“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”
- King Henry IV (Henry IV, Part II, W. Shakespeare, c. 1599)
- Also Nick Fury (Spider-Man: Far From Home, S. Lee et al, 2019)
As Washington’s congressional leaders are learning this spring, being in charge means lots of stress and sleepless nights, regardless of party.
On the House side, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) exists in a perpetual state of crisis, needing to keep an unruly GOP caucus together with nearly no margin of error. On a range of issues, from re-opening DHS to renewing the nation’s surveillance laws, Johnson has had to cajole, bargain with and threaten his charges to provide votes for passage. On other issues, like aid to Ukraine and releasing the Epstein files, Johnson has watched with dismay as enough Republicans joined with Democrats to force uncomfortable votes.
Johnson knows all too well that he became Speaker because his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), was kicked out in 2023 for relying on Democratic votes to keep the government open. If Republicans lose control of the House in November, Johnson could very well be removed from leadership.
His Senate counterpart, Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), has it only marginally better. While the size of his majority is proportionally bigger than Johnson’s, the need to secure at least seven Democratic votes to overcome filibusters means he constantly needs to advance GOP priorities through complicated “reconciliation” bills that can move forward with just GOP votes.
Even that can be daunting, especially in an election year. A plan to add $1 billion to a reconciliation bill for security upgrades as part of the White House East Wing project is getting significant pushback from lawmakers from both parties. While the draft bill would bar funds from being used for any aspect of the project not tied to security, the popular perception that the money is for President Trump’s ballroom is making Republicans facing re-election leery of voting for ballrooms when their constituents are facing high costs.
Across the aisle, Democratic leaders face their own challenges. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) has been on the receiving end of progressive ire for the last two years, accused of not fighting the Trump administration hard enough and yielding too easily to Republicans. The 75-year old Schumer also faces calls to cede power to the next generation of leaders. If Democrats fail to win a Senate majority, those calls will only grow.
And on the House side, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is confronting a different challenge: after months of growing Democratic optimism that a House majority was in reach, those hopes were jarred in recent weeks by a pair of court rulings. First, the U.S. Supreme Court severely limited a section of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that had been used to create majority-minority congressional districts; several Southern states are rushing to change maps to add seats that will likely be GOP-leaning. A week later, the Virginia Supreme Court invalidated an April referendum in which voters had approved new maps that would have netted Democrats several seats.
As a result, Democrats will face a much less friendly map in November from which to pick up the seats they need to secure a majority and make Jeffries the Speaker. While Jeffries and his lieutenants have been aggressive in pushing blue states to gerrymander Democratic-leaning seats, Jeffries’ perch atop House Dems may be in jeopardy if the party does not win a majority in November.
In all, these are tough days to be a leader in Congress. It’s one thing when the two parties can’t get on the same page to pass important legislation. When leaders cannot count on the backing of even their own members, chaos tends to ensue.
This has practical implications for the CRM industry. In the coming months, Congress needs to approve spending levels for federal agencies, including the Department of the Interior, for the next fiscal year. The Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), which provides monies to S/THPOs, is still under a short-term authorization. And as the Trump administration continues to move ahead on its ballroom, triumphal arch and repainting the Reflecting Pool, Congress needs to exert its oversight role. But internal tensions within both parties make the business of Congress significantly more difficult.
Nobody knows how the November midterm election will play out, but one thing’s for sure: the heads with the crowns will not lie easy until then.
ACRA Offers Guidance to Corps on Nationwide Permits
ACRA has urged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to maintain provisions in its nationwide permit (NWP) program that ensure the protection of historic properties.
The Corps issued a request for input in March on “ways to increase the efficiency of the nationwide permit program [NWP]” under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act.
Noting that the Corps has long recognized the need to engage in a Section 106 process before issuing permits under CWA Section 404 or Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, ACRA called on the Corps to maintain general conditions 20 (Historic Properties) and 21 (Discovery of Previously Unknown Remains and Artifacts). ACRA told the Corps that these conditions “ensure that the Corps can fulfill its statutory obligations under the NHPA and similar laws. Furthermore, they ensure early stakeholder coordination, which is a hallmark of an effective Section 106 process.”
In addition, ACRA urged the Corps to finish its 2024 rulemaking to rescind Appendix C and follow the ACHP 800 regulations, which ACRA said will “provide long-term certainty and predictability to its regulatory program.”
ACRA also expressed concern about staffing reductions, which could hamper the Corps’ ability to facilitate the NWP program timely and efficiently.