Will Mitch McConnell’s absence in the Senate affect legislation on Capitol Hill?
Sen. Mitch McConnell’s ongoing absence could impact agriculture and defense policy on Capitol Hill, as the GOP tries to navigate a slim majority in the Senate without McConnell’s influential voice.
McConnell’s hospitalization has mostly taken place during the Senate’s recess, but with Congress back in session and Republicans control the Senate with a 53 to 47 majority, McConnell’s absence could derail a defense spending package and efforts to advancing a farm bill.
“McConnell’s absence likely hadn’t had much effect because Congress wasn’t doing a lot of business,” Stephen Voss, a University of Kentucky political science professor, said. “But now they’re back in session, and the empty seat can make more of a difference. Republicans have had sufficient numbers that purely by the math, losing one Republican didn’t necessarily have that much harmful impact, but the GOP is having a harder time holding its coalition together.”
McConnell, 84, was hospitalized June 14 and is still recovering, he said Sunday, The timeline for his return to the Senate is still unknown. After weeks of his office releasing few details on his health condition, McConnell and his doctor released a comprehensive statement Sunday that explained he was being treated for a fall and slight case of pneumonia.
The Senate GOP also recently lost Lindsey Graham, a longtime Republican senator from South Carolina, who died Sunday after a “brief and sudden illness.” Graham was one of President Donald Trump’s staunchest political allies and also served on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee.
McConnell chairs the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, which is the panel that controls Pentagon spending. Without McConnell’s vote, Republican lawmakers can’t advance any defense funding bills without the backing of some Democrats.
But Democrats aren’t expected to throw their support because of the partisan disputes over defense spending, according to reporting from The Hill.
Lawmakers are also racing against the clock with around 24 days left in the Senate legislative calendar, and stalling the defense budget process could lead to a gap in military funding as the U.S. continues to engage in attacks to Iran. The end of the fiscal year is Sept. 30.
The other policy that could be at stake is the farm bill — Republicans don’t have enough votes without McConnell to advance it out of the Senate Agriculture Committee.
According to Politico, Democrats are opposing the bill as it is because it does not include their top policy demands. That includes delaying the start date for states to begin sharing the cost of providing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
Sen. John Boozman, an Arkansas Republican who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, told Politico Tuesday he hopes McConnell can participate in the bill’s markup. During a bill markup, lawmakers negotiate, debate and vote on whether to send the bill to the full chamber.
Voss said if McConnell’s missing vote does have an impact, “we won’t know because we won’t see the effect of Mitch McConnell’s absence on policy.
“Usually, by the time something goes up for a vote ... the party whip knows the breakdown,” Voss said. “If McConnell’s absence is affecting the politics of an issue, it may affect it quietly. It may convince the bill’s handlers to slip in something desired by a different Republican because they need to make up for McConnell’s vote not being available. We won’t necessarily see the impact because it happens behind the scenes implicitly rather than an event you can mark down in the calendar.”
While some Republicans have confidence McConnell will return to the Senate for key votes, one Democrat is questioning the legality of McConnell’s absence.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, told Fox News Tuesday that McConnell’s absence “is not normal at all.”
“Listen, things do happen,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “People get into medical incidents. If you’re in the hospital, you’re in the hospital. But I do think that there should be some sort of... there’s a line here. And I think almost everyone can agree that it’s been crossed.”
Sen. Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican, meanwhile told Fox News McConnell is “as tough as nails.”
“I don’t have any doubt if there was a vote for a Supreme Court Justice tomorrow that he’d find a way to be here for that,” Marshall said. “I think he’ll be here when we need him, and I just would never count him out. He’ll be back.”
