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Congress is on track to finish 2019 with a bang, with lawmakers due to take on three big matters this week before heading home for the holidays.
The House is expected to vote on a spending deal that would prevent a government shutdown early in the week, probably on Tuesday. The agreement, announced last week, then would head to the Senate to get its OK. Some sort of budget plan must be enacted by Friday or the federal government will endure another closure, less than a year after a shutdown that ranked as the longest on record.
On Wednesday, the Democratic-led House is expected to vote in favor of the two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump that charge him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. That would then lead to a January trial in the Republican-controlled Senate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said last week that there’s “no chance” Trump will be removed from office by that chamber, and such predictions help explain why the stock market SPX, +0.82% DJIA, +0.61% hasn’t reacted much lately to impeachment-related developments.
Check out: Here’s what’s happening next in Democrats’ effort to impeach President Trump
Finally, the House is due to vote Thursday on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which aims to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week said Democrats will support the revamped USMCA trade deal, citing better enforcement of labor and environmental standards and handing Trump a significant victory.
But there was a possible setback to the agreement over the weekend, as Mexico’s trade negotiator for North America expressed concern over new language added by Congress that called for the posting of up to five American labor attachés to monitor Mexico’s labor reform.
