Sen. Mitch McConnell’s extended absence has thrown a number of the Senate’s top priorities into limbo.
McConnell has not voted since he was hospitalized following a fall on June 14, and it’s still unclear when the Kentucky Republican will return to the upper chamber. His absence has complicated the math for leadership on several key votes as Republicans continue to grapple with a slim majority and only 10 legislative weeks before the end of the year.
“We’re at 52” Republican votes, Majority Leader John Thune told NOTUS, versus the 53 seats the party holds in the Senate. “This is the reality.”
McConnell’s absence is a particular problem for committees trying to negotiate urgent matters such as government funding and the farm bill.
Trending
The Appropriations Committee has been at a standstill for about a month on talks to avoid a government shutdown. Without McConnell, who chairs the subcommittee on defense, the Appropriations Committee is split 14-14 between Democrats and Republicans, making it impossible to advance legislation that doesn’t have bipartisan support.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia), who serves on the committee, told NOTUS that losing McConnell’s vote in such partisan negotiations has made those conversations “impossible.”
“We miss not just his vote, we miss him,” Capito said. “But it definitely has an impact on approps –– it’s probably the most deeply felt.”
Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins said she’s hopeful that McConnell will return before the committee has to vote on any kind of funding bill.
“I believe he will be back in September, so I am very optimistic about that,” said Collins, a Republican from Maine.
Talks over the farm bill are also at a standstill without McConnell, the second-ranking Republican on the Agriculture Committee. Democrats want to delay when states must start sharing costs under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a provision that Republicans are staunchly opposed to.
McConnell’s absence leaves the committee at 11-11, giving Democrats a new leg up in those negotiations. Sen. Jim Justice (R-West Virginia) told NOTUS that every day the bill is delayed is difficult for farmers in his home state.
“Let’s just pray that he gets back really, really soon and gets back in a good, healthy way where we can move this along,” Justice said.
Justice said Congress should pass a bill to prevent these sorts of absences from causing legislative impasses in the future. He suggested that if a lawmaker’s absence stretched beyond 30 days, their party could be allowed to select someone to fill their place on committees.
“That completely is so reasonable it’s unbelievable to me,” Justice said.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) told NOTUS that repeated Republican absences are causing consistent problems for committee work and other legislative business in the upper chamber.
“Basically, we’ve been unable to do stuff today in committees,” Hawley said. “All the committees I was in today had to be canceled or couldn’t do business because Republicans weren’t there. And I’m like, wow, we’ve got two weeks to go.”
Hawley added that the issue extends to the Senate floor. On Thursday, Senate Republicans shot down a resolution limiting the Trump administration’s war powers in Iran, but any absence can make those kinds of votes all the more difficult.
“There’s only 53 votes,” Hawley said. “When you have multiple people gone at a time, it’s like, well, you can’t even control the floor. It’s got to be frustrating to be the leader.”
But other Senate Republicans said they aren’t taking issue with McConnell’s extended absence just yet. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska) noted that other senators have also taken time off from legislating for medical reasons.
Fischer pointed to former Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Illinois), who was absent for a full year after suffering a stroke in 2012, and former Sen. Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota), who missed nine months after a brain hemorrhage in 2006.
“I would say there wasn’t the deep interest that Sen. McConnell has been under,” Fischer said of those previous absences. “He’s doing some rehabilitation. He wants to come back, that’s his choice.”
Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) said simply: “I have not missed a vote since I’ve been here. … I just can only control myself.”
Authors
