As House Republicans’ second in command, Steve Scalise, R-La., had regular opportunities last Congress to ask about — or criticize — Democrats’ upcoming agenda during end-of-week colloquies on the floor. Now, with Republicans in power, the shoe’s on the other foot, and Scalise will spend colloquies on the receiving end of questions from newly minted Minority Whip Katherine M. Clark, D-Mass.
The colloquy is a House tradition in which the minority whip engages the majority leader in a dialogue on the floor to preview the upcoming week’s legislative schedule, generally occurring after the final House votes of a week. Colloquies don’t often stay focused on the schedule for long, though, as the two parties’ seconds-in-command exchange snipes and delve into a wide range of timely policy issues.
Amid concerns raised over border control and law enforcement legislation by members of their own party, five of the Republicans’ 11 “ready to go bills” slated for the first two weeks of the Congress have yet to receive floor action five weeks after the start of the 118th Congress.
