Thread by @nkanow

🧵What the 118th Congress Can (& Cannot) Do
or
How Scared Should We Be?

Start with this exhaustive resource that outlines legislative powers & restrictions. Trust me, you'll want to save this one.

congress.gov/help/learn-abo…
1/19

Next, a guide to the Rules, Precedents & Procedures of the House of Representatives - which you also might want to save for future reference.

govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GP…

(The following 4 tweets come from this resource.)

Note that the oversight powers of the House apply...
2/19

to the administration and execution of existing law. The House is not empowered to violate existing law, nor is it empowered to unilaterally change existing laws or regs.

"The investigative power cannot be used to expose merely for the sake of exposure or...
3/19

to inquire into matters which are within the exclusive province of one of the other branches of government or which are reserved to the States."

**All investigations must be formed with a specific purpose: to make legislative recommendations.**
4/19

On matters of "Congressional disapproval":

brookings.edu/research/where…

"Federal court decisions indicate that congressional action to approve or disapprove an executive branch determination should be undertaken by way of a bill or joint resolution and not by way of a simple...
5/19

or concurrent resolution or through committee action."

See Tweet 2: "Congressional Disapproval; Also "Germaneness" & "Binding effect"

House rules & actions are subject to the guardrails of the Constitution, SCOTUS and agreement of the Senate on all legislative matters.
6/19

On the topic of gutting the Office of Congressional Ethics: The Rs tried to do this in 2017. They changed their minds very quickly.

wapo.st/3ZlJ0Hc (free to read - screengrab from article)
7/19

On the matter of the debt ceiling: While they can hold up a vote & threaten cuts to spending, House Rs reelected in '22 know that the quickest way to screw their party in '24 is to default on US debt.

cnn.com/2021/09/08/bus…

"A default would be an economic cataclysm...
8/19

"Interest rates would spike, the stock market would crater, retirement accounts would take a beating, the value of the US dollar would erode and the financial reputation of the world’s only superpower would be tarnished."

“'It would be financial Armageddon,” Mark Zandi...
9/19

chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told CNN. “It’s complete craziness to even contemplate the idea of not paying our debt on time.'"

Remember, this is money already spent/allocated - it's not new spending.

Fm 2021:

digitaljournal.com/world/what-hap…
10/19

As you can see, defaulting on US debt would directly harm the American people in myriad ways. There's no logical reason to think 217 Rs will let that happen.

And shutting down the government? Yeah, they tried that during Trump's reign. Here's how that went:
11/19

The razor-thin margin they have in the House is the result of gerrymandering, not the will of the voters.

Voters sent their party a clear mandate in the historic '22 midterms:

Stop the chaos & GOVERN.
12/20

There are 222 House Republicans. Of these, 119 are "election deniers." Of the 119, at least 6 are not in McCarthy's fan club.

Are the remaining Rs likely to line up behind McCarthy on any bill that would ultimately harm their chances of reelection in 2 years?
13/19

Remember, McCarthy can lose no more than 4 votes to pass any bill.

Is there really any reason to believe that McCarthy's wackiest, most harmful concessions will pass the House?

Here's what we know for sure:

They can't unilaterally change...
14/19

Soc Sec or healthcare or make new laws or amend existing laws.

Yes, they can try to stop any bill going to the floor for a vote.

They can move any crazy bill to the floor, start ridiculous investigations & generally cause chaos.

But they DO NOT have unlimited powers.
15/19

They DO NOT have unilateral powers.

What they do - or don't do - has far-reaching implications for their party & their hopes for the majority in either Chamber in '24.

So, instead of allowing ourselves to be distracted by worry or anger, we should be focusing...
16/19

on our messaging leading up to the 2024 elections.

The best person to follow for that, by the way, is @RachelBitcecofer.

It was her expertise that helped turn the tide against a Red Wave in the midterm election. She has the tools & she's happy to share them.
17/19

The next two years can lead to a Democratically-led government in '24, but only if we resolve to work together to distract the MAGAs & focus on rallying & engaging everyone else.
18/19
#Engage
#Resisters
#DemsDeliver
#ABCsOfDemocracy
#DemsCreateJobsNotChaos
#DemocratsAreUnited

Personally, that's where my focus will be.

I ain't scared.

Relevant screenshots:
19/19 END🧵