Senate Democrats have been off to a remarkably slow start in the 118th Congress, where they have often lacked an outright majority as several temporary absences complicate their ability to confirm President Joe Biden's nominees and give Republicans an easier time sending legislation to his desk.
In the first 100 days, the Democratic-controlled Senate held 82 votes. By comparison, there were 133 votes at this point in the 117th Congress and 76 in the 116th Congress, when the chamber was controlled by Republicans. The Senate has confirmed 33 of Biden’s judicial and Cabinet nominees and has passed five bills. Republicans scored wins and divided Democrats by deploying a congressional maneuver called a resolution of disapproval four times to target policies they oppose and force Democrats to either embrace Biden’s positions or buck their party. Biden vetoed two of those resolutions.
SENATE REPUBLICANS KEEP NOTCHING VICTORIES BY PEELING OFF VULNERABLE DEMOCRATS
Senators have attempted to lower expectations for this session, in which lawmakers must operate in a divided government. It’s likely the chamber may not advance much beyond must-pass bills like raising the debt limit and the National Defense Authorization Act.
Bills passed in Senate
The Senate voted 66-30 on March 29 to repeal authorizations for the use of force in Iraq, more than 20 years after the U.S. invasion of the country. The bipartisan vote was the first time an authorization of military force was repealed since 1974. The legislation has been sent to the House, where it’s unclear whether Republicans plan to take it up.
The chamber also approved a Republican-authored resolution 68-23 on March 29 to end the COVID-19 public health crisis. A large number of Democrats voted with Republicans in support of the resolution after Biden gave vulnerable Democrats political cover and indicated he would sign the legislation to lift the national emergency declaration. Biden signed the bill into law on Tuesday. The White House had previously opposed the GOP measure, which gained bipartisan support, even though they had planned to end the emergency declarations on May 11.
That same day, the Senate also approved another measure to cancel a key Biden administration rule that defines what bodies of water are subject to federal regulation under the Clean Water Act Senators voted 53-43 to overturn the rule and sent the bill to the president’s desk. Biden vetoed the bill last Thursday.
Earlier in March, senators voted overwhelmingly to block the District of Columbia’s updated criminal code from becoming law, which would have reduced or eliminated mandatory minimum sentences for carjacking and some other violent crimes. Biden reversed his position on March 3 during a lunch with Senate Democrats, telling them he would sign the resolution, angering House lawmakers across the Capitol complex who had already voted against it. Biden signed the measure into law on March 20.
With some support from Democrats, the Senate voted in early March to overturn a Labor Department rule that permits fiduciary retirement fund managers to consider environmental, social, and corporate governance, or ESG, factors in their investment decisions. Biden issued the first veto of his presidency on the measure. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Jon Tester (D-MT), two red-state Democrats up for reelection, were the only two to vote with Republicans to overturn the rule. On March 20, Biden vetoed the Republican proposal.
Biden confirmations for top administrative posts
So far this year, the Senate has only confirmed 11 of Biden’s nominees. According to the White House, over 800 nominees have been confirmed throughout Biden’s time in office. Two of Biden’s picks withdrew their nominations in the last month after failing to get enough support from centrist Democrats.
Phillip Washington, Biden’s pick to lead the Federal Aviation Administration, recently withdrew his nomination amid criticism he doesn’t have aviation credentials. Earlier in the month, Gigi Sohn, Biden’s pick to serve as the top telecommunications regulator for the Federal Communication Commission, withdrew her nomination after months of controversy.
The polarizing environment ahead of the 2024 election cycle and a few health-related absences have complicated the situation for Democrats. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has missed 58 Senate votes since she was diagnosed with shingles in February. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) has been gone since mid-February, when he checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland to undergo treatment for clinical depression. He is expected to return to the Senate the week of April 17.
Biden judicial confirmations
The Senate has confirmed 22 of Biden’s judicial nominations this year after closing out the first two years of his presidency by confirming 97 judges, including Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
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Democratic Senate absences and a rule in the upper chamber that allows lawmakers the ability to veto district court nominees for courts in their home states have put some judicial picks in jeopardy. Some have argued the Senate’s “blue slip” custom of requiring district court nominees to have the support of their home state senators has hampered Biden’s ability to nominate judges in states with two Republican senators.
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) recently announced she would not support Mississippi district court nominee Scott Colom, which could sink his nomination. If Democrats were to attempt to move forward, they would need the vote of Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee. Without Feinstein’s vote, the breakdown is 10-10.