Aside from passing a couple bills to fund the federal government at a basic, status quo level, House Republicans have virtually no plans for the rest of the year.
Republican leader discussed their future plans during a meeting on Tuesday which consists of a series of symbolic votes that probably won't even make headlines or at least not for good reasons.
Although that agenda included an omnibus appropriations bill to keep the government funded until October, as well as a Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization and some banking legislation, other items were pure messaging votes ― like a balanced budget amendment and implausible Internal Revenue Service reforms tied to April 15.
Also on the slide was the so-called Stop School Violence Act, the most ambitious feature of which is the name. The bill would simply provide $50 million annually for training and equipment to prevent and respond to school violence. Plus, there was mention of legislation to streamline permits for energy infrastructure projects and the farm bill, which may come down to a one-year extension rather than a full five-year reauthorization.
We can say with some level of confidence that the farm bill will be a one-year extension because, as you may recall, the Freedom Caucus says they would rather vote for a one-year extension than a five-year bill that doesn't impose the kind of cuts and "reforms" they're looking for, such as massive cuts to food stamps.
It appears that Republicans aren't even considering trying to pass Trump's fake infrastructure plan, but that's hardly surprising.
For the most part I believe it's good news that House Republicans have no big plans for the rest of the year, but I will say it appears to me that when Trump gets bored is when he starts doing exceptionally stupid shit like announce tariffs on imports without even consulting his cabinet secretaries.
The next seven months is a long time for Trump's idle hands to use global peace and order as a fidget spinner.