The House of Representatives will NOT come back to Washington next week
The House of Representatives will no longer come back in session on May 4, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Tuesday on a call with reporters.
Hoyer instead said the Congressional session would resume ‘very soon,’ but he explained that the Attending Physician of the United States Congress, Dr. Brian Monahan, indicated it was too much of a health risk for members to come back to Washington, D.C., because coronavirus cases in the area hadn’t decreased in number yet.
‘There was a risk to members that he would not recommend taking,’ Hoyer said.
The No. 2 Democrat also said the session was delayed because CARES 2, the next coronavirus package Congress will take up, isn’t ready for a vote yet.
Hoyer’s announcement was an about-face, as House Democrats were informed on a call Monday that they were to come back to town in one week’s time.
A number of House Democrats rebelled against that plan, with Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida Democrat who previously led the Democratic National Committee, calling the move ‘dangerous,’ Politico reported.
President Trump had a different take after the cancellation was announced Tuesday, telling reporters that Democrats are ‘enjoying their vacation.’
‘Yeah, I think they are, I think they are,’ Trump said. ‘Look at Nancy Pelosi eating ice cream on late night television, yeah I think they probably are having a good time.’
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to bring the House back into session next Monday. When her No. 2 told the caucus this on Monday, the Democratic leadership faced backlash from its members
Politico reported that Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the former chair of the Democratic National Committee, spoke up and called the move ‘dangerous.’ A number of female lawmakers brought up childcare also being an issue
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is followed through the Capitol by reporters sporting masks during last week’s vote
Republican Rep. Jim Jordan refused to wear a mask for his return to Capitol Hill last week for another coronavirus relief bill
Members were asked to keep social distance away from their peers when they returned to Washington last week to cast votes
Hoyer had informed the caucus of the scheduling update on a Monday afternoon call.
‘Nancy and I have talked a couple of times today,’ Hoyer said, according to Politico’s account. ‘We have decided we will come back on the 4th.’
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell already announced that the Senate would come back into session next Monday.
‘Look, it doesn’t make sense for the Senate to sit on the sidelines while a lot of other people are going to work everyday and trying to get us through this,’ McConnell had told Politico in an interview.
Hoyer’s call to return to Washington had been immediately met with resistance, with members includings Reps. Lucille Roybal-Allard of California, Susan Wild of Pennsylvania and Veronica Escobar of Texas speaking up, according to Politico’s account.
Some asked how they were supposed to deal with childcare with schools across the country closed and with Hoyer suggesting they might be needed in Washington for an extended stay.
House member are seen wearing masks during a vote last week. The House has implemented staggered voting so members aren’t congregating on the floor en masse
Hoyer had said the House could be in session for two weeks.
Chiefs of staff told the publication that they were blindsided by the announcement, as their weekly call with Pelosi’s office had been cancelled earlier Monday.
On Tuesday, Hoyer played down members’ dissent.
‘Many of the members on the one hand want to get back to adopt a rule and adopt CARES 2, which they think is necessary,’ he said. ‘There are other members who also have that same feeling, but also are very, very concerned if there’s not a major piece of legislation like we passed over the last month,’ he continued, explaining that those lawmakers didn’t want to be stuck in Washington for a long period of time.
‘We ought to wait until we can do them all together over a short period of time rather than stay here for some period of time,’ Hoyer said.
The doctor also told Hoyer it was safer for members to pop in and out of Washington than to stay in the city for weeks, he said.
Congress is expected to start working on a CARES 2 package, which would be the fifth piece of legislation to help stem the economic bleeding brought on by the coronavirus crisis.
House Democrats, which hold the majority in the House, have initiated some safety protocols to allow for better social distancing on Capitol Hill.
Instead of every member gathering on the House floor for votes, voting is being done in waves.
And they’re moving ahead with plans to allow proxy voting, which would open up the door for colleagues to vote for one another if some members are stuck out of town.
Republicans have expressed they would be against such a plan.