WASHINGTON — Congress is focused this week on negotiating a government funding deal and determining whether bipartisan consensus can be reached to enact any additional COVID-19 relief before year’s end.
Those fiscal negotiations will continue among top appropriators, congressional leaders and their staffs behind the scenes while the House and Senate work through their end-of-session to-do lists on the floor.
The party margin of the Senate will change, likely by Wednesday. Arizona on Monday certified the victory of Democrat Mark Kelly over Republican Sen. Martha McSally, paving the way for Kelly’s swearing-in.
Meanwhile, the House Democratic Caucus on Thursday will finish selecting its leadership team for the 117th Congress with the election for Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair. Reps. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York and Tony Cardenas of California are running to lead the campaign arm.
Also on Thursday, the caucus will hold elections for open chairmanships on the Appropriations, Agriculture and Foreign Affairs panels. The Democratic Steering and Policy Committee will meet earlier in the week to hear from the candidates and make its recommendations to the caucus.
The House Republicans’ Steering Committee is meeting Tuesday and Wednesday to hear pitches from candidates hoping to slot into vacant ranking member slots on…
