Decryption | What the Republicans are up to

Barring a huge surprise, Republicans will take control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections. If the red wave is strong enough, they might even conquer the Senate. What will they be able to accomplish with their majority in one or both chambers of the US Congress? Their program is no secret.

Richard Hetu
special collaboration

The January 6 commission

118^e Congress will meet for the first time on January 3, 2023. One of the first items on the agenda of Republicans in the House of Representatives will be the dissolution of the commission of inquiry into the events leading up to the attack on the 6 January 2021 against the Capitol, if necessary. Launched in July 2021, this commission recently cited Donald Trump to appear by November 14. However, rumor has it that the former president has chosen this date to announce his candidacy for the presidential election of 2024. The Democrats could end their work themselves by January, but their showdown with Trump could prevent them.

Hunter Biden’s business

For two years, many Republican representatives have made a big deal of the computer abandoned by Hunter Biden in a repair shop in Delaware. They promise to use some of its content – ​​emails and text messages – as part of an investigation into the affairs of the president’s son, in particular with Chinese companies. media like the washington post and the New York Times authenticated some of the contents of the computer and claimed that Hunter Biden exploited his name and contacts to enrich himself. But they refused to conclude, as Republicans and conservative media do, that Joe Biden himself got rich from his son’s business.

The impeachment of Joe Biden

Republicans in the House of Representatives are hungry for revenge. After watching Donald Trump face two impeachment proceedings, some of them want to return the favor to the Democrats. For what reasons? “I’ve always said President Biden should be impeached for intentionally opening our border and making Americans less safe,” Virginia Rep. Bob Good replied. Others believe that the president’s handling of the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan is also grounds for impeachment. And if Joe Biden is not indicted, other members of his administration could be, including Attorney General Merrick Garland.

The debt ceiling

And a global financial crisis with that? The hypothetical scenario is tied to the US debt ceiling, which stands at $31.4 trillion. In 2023, Congress will have to raise this ceiling to continue funding government activities and avoid a default that could cause a global financial crisis. However, House Republicans want to use the threat of such a scenario to force Joe Biden to accept cuts to social and environmental programs. The president could avoid such a “hostage taking” by finding a way to raise the debt ceiling by January. Easier said than done.

Aid to Ukraine

No more “blank checks” to Ukraine. In a recent interview, Kevin McCarthy, likely successor to Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House, criticized the Biden administration for doing too much for Volodymyr Zelensky’s country and not enough for his own, especially when it comes to ‘illegal immigration. “Ukraine is important, but at the same time it can’t be the only thing they do, and it can’t be a blank check,” he said. Marjorie Taylor Greene, her colleague from Georgia, went much further on Thursday: “Under the Republicans, not a penny will go to Ukraine,” she said.

Confirmation of judges

If they don’t win a majority in the Senate, Republicans won’t be able to do anything about it: Joe Biden will be able to continue to win the confirmation of his justices to the federal bench, which he has done at a pace not seen since the presidency of John Kennedy. . But it will be different if the Republicans take control of the upper house of Congress. Mitch McConnell and his colleagues could then block all the judges appointed by the Democratic president. And if a Supreme Court vacancy arises, McConnell could also decline to confirm the president’s choice, as he once did when Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland to replace conservative Justice Antonin Scalia.

The ban on abortion

This is another piece of the Republican agenda that would require full congressional scrutiny to become a reality. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham has already promised to introduce, in the wake of a Republican double, a bill banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy in the 21 American states that still allow abortion until at the 24^e week of pregnancy. Such a text would undoubtedly come up against the “filibuster”, the rule of 60 votes required to close the debate in the Senate on such a measure. But it would mark a turning point in the debate over the future of abortion in the United States.

The trial of D.^r Fauci

House Republicans have pledged to investigate claims that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. This investigation would also aim to examine the federal funds that supported the work carried out in this laboratory. A Republican-majority Senate would also hold a similar inquiry. Led by Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, it could turn into a trial of his sworn enemy, Anthony Fauci, face of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Even if he will retire in December, the immunologist said he was ready to defend his record before Congress.