Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) already had his hands full with a group of Republicans opposing the quick dismissal of impeachment articles against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
But bipartisan upset over a federal spy law the Senate must renew by Friday, plus a possible House vote on foreign aid, is complicating the chamber’s plans to depart for a scheduled recess Thursday afternoon.
House managers will walk the impeachment articles against Mayorkas, who stands accused of ignoring federal immigration law, on Tuesday afternoon, teeing up a Wednesday trial that Democrats are expected to cut short.
Republicans hope to draw out the trial with a series of legislative maneuvers, but Democrats can deem their motions “dilatory” and ignore them. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), for example, is considering a point of order that would request debate on Mayorkas’s impeachment.
The net effect will be a temporary delay. Democrats, who consider the impeachment politically motivated, are expected to table or dismiss the articles, perhaps even with the help of Republican centrists.
But Schumer faces a broader slowdown on the Senate floor as Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) forces the chamber to jump through procedural hoops on unrelated business as retribution for the dismissal.
He has kept the Senate from recessing and even considering uncontroversial nominees without time-consuming votes.
“I’ll end this now if they just agree to do their job,” Lee retorted to reporters last week.
Schumer faces other headaches. The federal government’s spy powers could lapse for a day or two if leadership does not reach a time agreement to expedite the renewal of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
The bill cleared the House last week but not without controversy, as privacy-minded Democrats and libertarian Republicans joined forces to oppose the law as written.
The legislation, which extends the government’s surveillance powers for two years and includes a handful of modest reforms, has enough support to pass the Senate, too. But Schumer will need the cooperation of all 100 senators to fast-track it before Friday’s deadline.
Already, lawmakers in both parties have promised to stand in the way. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) wants to amend the bill to require a warrant if the government wants to search U.S. data caught up in the surveillance of foreign persons.
He has signaled he will oppose the legislation without the amendment vote, which narrowly failed on the House floor last week.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) has called for similar reforms and on Friday said he would do “everything in my power” to stop the bill from becoming law.
On Monday, he declined to say what steps he plans to take or whether he had spoken to Schumer about his opposition.
The roadblocks raise the distinct possibility that senators will be forced to stay in town for part of the weekend. Moreover, Schumer will be tempted to cancel next week’s recess altogether if the House passes long-awaited foreign aid that mirrors the $95 billion measure the Senate approved in February.
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Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) plans to hold four separate votes on the legislation, which includes funding for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, but the bills could be stitched together and sent over to the Senate by Friday night.
Schumer said he is “reserving judgment” on the bill until Johnson releases legislative text, likely on Tuesday night. He reiterated in a floor speech that “time is of the essence” as war rages in Gaza and Ukraine.