HONOLULU, Hawaii (AP) — House Republicans plan to hold a vote on a sweeping measure to strengthen U.S. counterterrorism policies at a late Thursday afternoon hearing, where the measure will face a hostile Republican opposition from President Donald Trump and members of the House Freedom Caucus.
The measure, known as the ‘S.
823 Act,’ would create a new Office of Special Counsel and establish a Homeland Security Advisory Council to advise the president and Congress on homeland security issues.
The bill would also allow the administration to waive the requirement that members of Congress sign off on bills passed by the House.
Democrats have been lobbying Republicans to reject the measure and move on to other priorities.
Republicans have not been publicly supportive of the legislation, which would give the White House more authority to detain suspected terrorists and grant special powers to the Department of Homeland Security, including the power to declare national emergencies.
Republicans have proposed repealing or weakening the federal ban on the importation of certain semiautomatic weapons, but they have not made a proposal for broad changes to the country’s gun laws.
The bill also would grant a new power to the secretary of homeland security to grant broad discretion in the use of the U.N. refugee agency and to designate the U to be an agency of the United Nations.
Trump has vowed to veto the measure if it reaches his desk.
