DRIVING THE WEEK:
- The Senate is scheduled to be in session this week after the Columbus Day holiday and will consider a number of nominations as well as the House-passed Water Infrastructure bill. The House of Representatives is in recess until November 13.
- President Trump will attend the official swearing-in of Brett Kavanaugh to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court today.
- With one month until the midterm elections, Trump will hold rallies in Iowa on Tuesday, Pennsylvania on Wednesday and Ohio on Friday. Vice President Pence will campaign in Texas and Missouri this week.
- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Beijing, wrapping up a four-country trip to Japan, North Korea, South Korea and China. He is scheduled to meet with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, followed by Chinese Politburo member Yang Jiechi.
- National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow suggested in an interview over the weekend that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could meet later this year for discussions over trade, saying that "maybe" the two men "will meet at G-20 in Buenos Aires."
- Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will meet with members of the House on Thursday in a meeting organized by Republicans on the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees. The scheduled meeting comes weeks after reports that he proposed secretly recording Trump and recruiting Cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment last year to remove Trump from office.
U.S. Senate Schedule:
| Wednesday, Oct 10, 2018 8:30 AM – SD-342 |
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs |
Hearings to examine threats to the homeland. |
| Wednesday, Oct 10, 2018 9:30 AM – SR-222 |
Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support |
Hearings to examine United States Air Force readiness. |
| Wednesday, Oct 10, 2018 10:00 AM – SD-226 |
Judiciary |
Hearings to examine pending nominations. |
| Wednesday, Oct 10, 2018 10:00 AM – SD-406 |
Environment and Public Works |
Hearings to examine successful state conservation, recovery, and management of wildlife from Yellowstone's grizzly bear to the Chesapeake's Delmarva fox squirrel. |
| Wednesday, Oct 10, 2018 10:00 AM – SR-253 |
Commerce, Science, and Transportation |
Hearings to examine consumer data privacy, focusing on lessons from the European Union's general data protection regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act. |
| Thursday, Oct 11, 2018 9:30 AM – SR-253 |
Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard |
Hearings to examine the future of the fleets, focusing on Coast Guard and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ship recapitalization. |
| Thursday, Oct 11, 2018 9:30 AM – SVC-217 |
Armed Services |
To receive a closed briefing on the military threat posed by near peer adversaries China and Russia. |
| Thursday, Oct 11, 2018 10:00 AM – SD-226 |
Judiciary |
Business meeting to consider S.2785, to designate foreign persons who improperly interfere in United States elections as inadmissible aliens, S.3178, to amend title 18, United States Code, to specify lynching as a deprivation of civil rights, and the nominations of Jonathan A. Kobes, of South Dakota, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Eighth Circuit, Kenneth D. Bell, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of North Carolina, Stephanie A. Gallagher, to be United States District Judge for the District of Maryland, Mary S. McElroy, to be United States District Judge for the District of Rhode Island, Carl J. Nichols, to be United States District Judge for the District of Columbia, John M. O'Connor, to be United States District Judge for the Northern, Eastern and Western Districts of Oklahoma, and Martha Maria Pacold, Mary M. Rowland, and Steven C. Seeger, each to be a United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. |
| Thursday, Oct 11, 2018 10:00 AM – SD-366 |
Energy and Natural Resources |
Hearings to examine blackstart and other system restoration plans in the electric utility industry. |
| Thursday, Oct 11, 2018 10:00 AM – SD-538 |
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs |
Hearings to examine the cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem. |
| Thursday, Oct 11, 2018 10:30 AM – SD-419 |
Foreign Relations |
Hearings to examine the nomination of John Mark Pommersheim, of Florida, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Tajikistan, Department of State. |
| Thursday, Oct 11, 2018 Time to be announced. – TBA |
Small Business and Entrepreneurship |
Business meeting to consider S.2679, to provide access to and manage the distribution of excess or surplus property to veteran-owned small businesses, S.3552, to amend the Small Business Act to adjust the real estate appraisal thresholds under the 7(a) program of the Small Business Administration to bring those thresholds into line with the thresholds used by the Federal banking regulators, S.3553, to amend the Small Business Act to adjust the real estate appraisal thresholds under the section 504 program of the Small Business Administration to bring those thresholds into line with the thresholds used by the Federal banking regulators, S.3554, to extend the effective date for the sunset for collateral requirements for Small Business Administration disaster loans, an original bill entitled, "National Guard and Reserve Entrepreneurship Act", and an original bill entitled, "Small Business Runway Extension Act of 2018". |
