Mike Johnson faces mounting to-do list in first full week as House speaker

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) faces a number of challenges and a growing to-do list during his first full week as House speaker, tackling must-pass spending legislation as well as aid requests to Israel and Ukraine amid foreign wars.

The House is set to reconvene on Wednesday evening to begin voting on a slew of appropriations bills just three weeks before federal funding is set to lapse, with no plan yet to advance another stopgap spending measure to avoid a government shutdown. Lawmakers will consider three spending bills that, if passed, will put the lower chamber over the halfway mark to passing all 12 of its annual appropriations legislation.

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Meanwhile, the House’s to-do list nearly doubled in size last week after rank-and-file lawmakers introduced a pair of censure resolutions and a bid to oust Rep. George Santos (R-NY) from his competitive seat.

Here’s a look at all that’s in store for Johnson and the rest of the lower chamber as they enter the week:

House makes progress on must-pass spending bills

When lawmakers reconvene on Wednesday night, the House is expected to begin votes on three of its must-pass appropriations bills for the Legislative Branch, Department of the Interior, and for Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development and Related Agencies.

If all three pass, the House will have advanced eight of its 12 annual appropriations bills so far. Shortly before being elected House speaker, Johnson released an aggressive legislative schedule to avoid a government shutdown that tees up all appropriations bills for a vote before the Nov. 17 deadline.

After this week, Johnson plans to vote on spending bills for Financial Services and General Government as well as the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies bills during the first week of November, with a vote on the Labor and Health and Human Services and Agriculture bills during the week of Nov. 13.

Meanwhile, the speaker is urging the House to work toward a plan to pass a stop-gap continuing resolution until Jan. 15 or April 15, 2024, to give lawmakers more time to negotiate with the Senate on its appropriations bills. However, the text of such a resolution has not yet been released.

Censure resolution against Rashida Tlaib

The House will also consider a censure resolution targeting Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), with a vote expected on Wednesday evening, a spokesperson for Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who introduced the resolution, told the Washington Examiner. 

The legislation accuses Tlaib of displaying “antisemitic activity” and “leading an insurrection” at the U.S. Capitol, referring to a demonstration earlier this month when pro-Palestinian protesters rallied outside members’ offices to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. More than 100 of the protesters were arrested, with a handful being charged with assaulting police officers, according to the U.S. Capitol Police.

Only a simple majority is required to censure a House member, meaning the resolution is likely to pass if all Republicans vote in favor and all Democrats oppose. However, a handful of GOP lawmakers have reportedly indicated they won’t support the resolution, arguing Tlaib was merely exercising her right to free speech.

The resolution could also put some vulnerable Democrats in a bind if they vote against the resolution because Republicans are likely to use the vote as campaign fodder to argue the opposite party won’t punish antisemitism. But it’s likely Democrats will seek to shift the narrative by using Greene and her own controversial comments as a reason to vote against it.

“With all the challenges we are facing right now, House Republicans are racing to once again list up something that Marjorie Taylor Greene is doing, which tells us that their focus continues to be in the wrong place,” said Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) on Thursday.

Greene faces a censure resolution of her own

Meanwhile, Greene must contend with a censure resolution targeted toward herself.

Shortly after the Georgia Republican unveiled her resolution against Tlaib, Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) introduced a motion to censure Greene over “her record of antisemitic, anti-LGBTQ, xenophobic, and racist rhetoric and conspiracy theories,” the Vermont Democrat said in a statement.

“If you want to talk antisemitism, look no further than Rep. Taylor Greene,” Balint said. “Her resolution is riddled with lies. It’s bigoted. It’s dangerous. This kind of rhetoric fans the flames of hate and fear at a time when Muslim Americans are already facing increased threats and violence. Rep. Tlaib is a valued legislator, a fighter for her community, and a friend. This attack, based on bigotry and conspiracy theories, has no place in the House.”

It’s not clear whether Balint’s motion will be brought to the floor on the same day as Greene’s resolution. However, Balint filed the resolution as privileged, meaning House leadership must bring it to the floor for a vote on either Wednesday or Thursday.

Santos faces yet another expulsion vote

Scandal-ridden New York freshman Santos will also face a consequential vote sometime this week as a handful of his fellow Republicans seek to expel him from Congress altogether.

Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) introduced an expulsion resolution against Santos on Thursday afternoon alongside fellow Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY), Nick LaLota (R-NY), and Marc Molinaro (R-NY). D’Esposito filed the resolution as privileged, forcing a vote on the motion within the next two legislative days — teeing it up for a vote on either Wednesday or Thursday.

Since being sworn into office at the beginning of this year, Santos has been at the center of controversy after the freshman lawmaker acknowledged he had embellished several elements of his life story while on the campaign trail. Santos also finds himself in possible legal trouble, having been twice indicted by the Justice Department on several counts of wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, and lying to Congress.

Santos has pleaded not guilty to the charges and maintained he will not resign from office.

The expulsion resolution requires a two-thirds majority to pass the House, meaning at least 78 Republicans would need to vote in favor if all lawmakers are present and voting. That could be difficult to obtain, especially as Republicans seek ways to defend their slim majority in the lower chamber.

“We have a four-seat majority,” Speaker Johnson told Fox News’s Sean Hannity over the weekend. “We have no margin for error … We have to allow due process to play itself out.”

House to consider aid request for Israel

Lawmakers are also set to vote on providing aid to Israel as it continues to engage in the war against Hamas that began earlier this month.

Johnson vowed to bring a $14.5 billion stand-alone aid package to the floor sometime this week, seeking to remove it from other Biden administration requests to provide aid to Ukraine, putting the House on a collision course with the Democratic-led Senate and White House hoping to pass all the funds together.

“Right now, what’s happening in Israel takes the immediate attention. And I think we have got to separate that and get it through,” Johnson told Fox News on Sunday, adding that his “intention is not to use this for any partisan political gamesmanship … This is a very serious matter.”

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At least two Republicans have already come out against the legislation: Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Greene. Both argued the United States is already in too much debt to provide outside aid, arguing instead to focus on the southern border.

It’s likely other Republicans will seek spending cuts elsewhere in the budget in exchange for their support on the legislation, although it’s not yet clear where those cuts would come from.