Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey
The Federal Tap: The 116th Session of Congress begins
From Ballotpedia
January 4, 2019Issue No. 142
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
Monday, December 31
Warren forms presidential exploratory committee and Iowa team
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) announced Monday that she had formed a presidential exploratory committee, joining former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro (D) in taking the first steps towards a possible presidential run.
- Warren has brought on several experienced staffers to her Iowa team from the Clinton, Obama, and Sanders campaigns: Emily Parcell, Janice Rottenberg, and Brendan Summers.
- More than 440 candidates have already filed with the Federal Election Commission to run for president in 2020, including 133 Democrats, 60 Republicans, 18 Libertarians, and 10 Greens.
- Ballotpedia is also tracking more than 60 possible Democratic and Republican presidential contenders.
Tuesday, January 1
Federal Register in review: final rules in the 2018 and 2017 Federal Register lowest annual count since the 1970’s
- In 2018, the Trump administration added a total of 68,082 pages to the Federal Register, a daily journal of federal government activity which includes presidential documents, proposed and final rules, and public notices. It is a common measure of an administration’s regulatory execution. Over the course of the year, the Federal Register included a total of 27,749 documents: 22,020 notices, 260 presidential documents, 2,044 proposed rules, and 3,367 rules.
- During 2017, the Trump administration added a total of 61,950 pages to the Federal Register. The 2018 page total led the 2017 page total by 6,132 pages.
- The Trump administration added an average of 1,301 pages to the Federal Register each week in 2018. Over the course of the Obama administration, the Federal Register increased by an average of 1,658 pages per week.
- The 2018 and 2017 page totals under the Trump administration are the lowest page totals since 2001, when the Federal Register reached 64,438 pages. According to government data, the Federal Register hit an all-time high of 95,894 pages in 2016.
- The 3,367 final rules in the 2018 Federal Register and the 3,281 final rules in the 2017 Federal Register are the lowest annual rule counts since the 1970’s.
- Click here to find more information about weekly additions to the Federal Register in 2018 and 2017: https://ballotpedia.org/Changes_to_the_Federal_Register
- Click here to find yearly information about additions to the Federal Register from 1936 to 2016: https://ballotpedia.org/Historical_additions_to_the_Federal_Register,_1936-2016
Wednesday, January 2
Members of the 116th Congress sworn in
- Members of the 116th session of Congress were sworn into office. Republicans have control of the Senate with a 53 to 47 majority, while Democrats control the House with a 235 to 199 majority.
- Senate leadership: Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is Senate majority leader, and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) is Senate majority whip. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is Senate minority leader, and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is Senate minority whip.
- House leadership: Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is the speaker of the House. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) is House majority leader, and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) is House majority whip. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is House minority leader, and Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) is House minority whip.
- Schedule: The House and Senate are expected to be in session for fewer days in 2019 than they were in 2018. The Senate is scheduled to meet for 168 days in 2019, and the House is scheduled to meet for 130 days. In 2018, the Senate met for 186 days, while the House met for 171. From 2001 to 2018, the Senate spent an average of 165 days in session each year, and the House spent an average of 140 days in session.
Senate Judiciary committee schedules hearings for Barr
- The Senate Judiciary Committee announced that it will hold a confirmation hearing for William Barr's nomination to be United States attorney general on January 15 and 16. President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Barr to the position on December 7, 2018, and formally sent his nomination to the Senate on January 3, 2019. Barr will have to be confirmed by the Senate with a simple majority vote before taking office.
- Barr served as the 77th United States attorney general under former President George H.W. Bush from 1991 to 1993.
Thursday, January 3
Pelosi elected speaker of the House
- Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was elected speaker of the House with 220 votes. Fifteen Democrats did not vote for her. If all 435 members vote, a candidate for speaker of the House must receive at least 218 votes of support to be elected. If not all members vote or some choose to vote "present", a candidate must receive a majority of support from those participating in the election.
- Pelosi previously served as speaker of the House from 2007 to 2011. She is the first and only woman to hold the position.
- The speaker of the House presides over sessions of the lower chamber and is second in the line of presidential succession.
House passes bills to end partial shutdown; Senate will not vote on them
- The House passed legislation to end the partial government shutdown, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that the Senate will not vote on the legislation. President Donald Trump also said that he would not sign the bills because they do not include his request for $5 billion to fund the construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border.
- A continuing resolution to fund the Department of Homeland Security through February 8, 2019, passed in the House by a vote of 239-192. A second bill to fund six government agencies through the end of the fiscal year passed by a vote of 241-190.
- Trump was scheduled to meet with House and Senate leadership on Friday to try to reach a deal to end the shutdown. Trump wants funding for the border wall, but Democrats have rejected his request. The partial shutdown began on December 22, 2018.
Congress is in session
The House and Senate will be in session January 8-11. Click here to see the full calendar for the first session of the 116th Congress.
SCOTUS is in session
The Supreme Court hear arguments this week on January 7, January 8, and January 9. The court will hear five cases. To learn more about this term, read our review.
WHAT'S ON TAP NEXT WEEK
What's On Tap Next Week
Monday, January 7
SCOTUS hears argument in Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. v. Albrecht
- The Supreme court will hear oral argument in Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. v. Albrecht. Hundreds of lawsuits were consolidated against the drug manufacturer Merck Sharp & Dohme, claiming that the osteoporosis drug Fosamax caused thigh bone fractures and that the FDA-approved label failed to warn about this side effect. A district court dismissed the case, ruling that the claims were preempted by federal law. The circuit court reversed the lower court's ruling, and Merck petitioned the Supreme Court to hear the case.
- The court will decide whether a state-law failure-to-warn claim is preempted when the Food and Drug Administration rejected the drug manufacturer's proposal to warn about the risk after being provided with the relevant scientific data, or whether such a case must go to a jury for conjecture as to why the FDA rejected the proposed warning.
Tuesday, January 8
SCOTUS hears argument in Herrera v. Wyoming
- The Supreme court will hear oral argument in Herrera v. Wyoming. Clayvin Herrera, a member of the Crow Tribe of Indians, was hunting elk on the Crow Reservation. He and other tribal members shot three elk after following the animals out of the Crow Reservation and into the Big Horn National Forest. He was charged with two misdemeanors for hunting without a license and during closed season. Herrera sought to have the charges dismissed, arguing that the 1868 Crow Treaty gave him the right to hunt where and when he did and that the treaty preempted state law.
- The court will decide whether Wyoming's admission to the Union or the establishment of the Bighorn National Forest abrogated the Crow Tribe of Indians' 1868 federal treaty right to hunt on the "unoccupied lands of the United States," thereby permitting the present-day criminal conviction of a Crow member who engaged in subsistence hunting for his family.
Where was the president last week?
- On Wednesday, President Donald Trump met with congressional leaders to discuss border wall funding. He also held a Cabinet meeting.
- On Friday, Trump held a meeting with congressional leaders over the partial government shutdown. Trump also met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Federal Judiciary
- 144 federal judicial vacancies
- 70 pending nominations
- 18 future federal judicial vacancies
About
The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.
