Following three weeks of negotiations and squabbling, House Republicans elected Louisiana Representative Mike Johnson to serve as the 56th Speaker of the House. This was a difficult time for House Republicans, who struggled to find a new speaker after eight of their members joined all House Democrats to abruptly oust McCarthy on Oct. 3.
On Tuesday, Kevin McCarthy became the first speaker in the history of the United States to be removed from his office when eight Republicans, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz, and all 208 Democrats present in the House voted to support the motion to vacate. The final vote was 216- 210.
While fighting in Congress over spending bills is nothing new, the heated politics surrounding this year’s federal government funding battle, and the resulting animosity if a government shutdown does materialize, could linger well beyond October and make reaching agreement on a tax bill all the more challenging.
There are only 11 days when both the House and the Senate are scheduled to be in session before the current federal funding authorization expires. In most years, the House and Senate leadership would simply agree to a continuing resolution (CR) that maintains existing federal policy and holds funding at current levels for a certain period to prevent a government shutdown before Oct. 1. This year, however, is not following Congress’ standard operating procedure, and is reminiscent of the years when congressional leaders were powerless to rein in the political forces that led to government shutdowns.
Last week, House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) kicked off what is expected to be months-long congressional negotiations over tax legislation.
On Monday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy visited Wall Street to debut the latest House Republican proposal to raise the debt ceiling. In his speech, McCarthy stated that in the coming weeks, the House would approve a one-year increase in the debt limit that will include a reduction in discretionary spending to 2022 levels, while limiting future increases to 1% annually over the next 10 years.
President Joe Biden submitted his proposed fiscal year 2024 federal budget to Congress on March 9. It contains numerous tax increases that repeatedly failed to clear the House of Representatives and Senate even when these chambers were controlled by Democrats. But the president’s budget submission makes sense if you acknowledge that its primary purpose is as a political messaging document, meant to provide a contrast between his administration and Republicans in advance of the 2024 presidential election.
In less than two weeks, NAIOP members and chapter local executives will be headed to Capitol Hill to meet with their elected representatives, senators and congressional staff. In so doing, they will be taking the opportunity to establish relationships with newly elected members of Congress; renew and deepen existing ties with incumbents; and talk to their elected officials about issues important to the commercial real estate industry.
The 2022 midterm congressional elections certainly did not turn out as many had expected. With President Joe Biden’s approval ratings
Members of Congress, both the House and Senate, finally got the chance to do what they have been desperate to