House, Senate return with divergent to-do lists

Both chambers of Congress return to Washington on Monday. But their current to-do lists couldn’t be in sharper contrast.

House: There’s little indication the nearly two-week gap without a speaker will lapse any time soon. A bloc of Republicans opposed to Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R-Ohio) speakership bid will offer an alternative during Tuesday’s scheduled floor vote, Olivia scooped on Sunday, further complicating an already rocky path to 217 votes.

Reminder: More than 50 Republicans said they wouldn’t vote for him on the floor during a secret conference vote last week, a daunting number of votes to flip.

There’s also some criticism of the tactics used by Jordan supporters to pressure holdouts. “As someone who wants Jim Jordan, the dumbest thing you can do is to continue pissing off those people,” said Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) on Sunday.

The next vibe check? Republicans are slated to gather again Monday at 6:30 p.m.

Senate: All eyes in the upper chamber will be on Israel this week. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer returns from a bipartisan trip with a promise of swift action, vowing at a Sunday press conference to craft the “most generous package possible” with “my office and Leader McConnell’s to pull together a package that the Senate can take up as soon as possible, hopefully within the next few weeks.”

What about the House? Schumer’s vowing the Senate won’t wait. “We're not waiting for the House. We believe that if the Senate acts in a strong bipartisan way it may indeed improve the chances that the House, even with its current dysfunction, will act,” he said. (There are obviously tons of questions about what the House can legally do right now — even passing resolutions — without a speaker.)

Another big one to watch: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee takes up the nomination of Jacob Lew to be ambassador to Israel on Wednesday, with lawmakers anxious to confirm him as quickly as possible.