119-HR-3766 DC Insider Procedural Viability Check

Bill snapshot

Number / Title

H.R. 3766 — Prohibits D.C. tribunals from deferring to the Mayor/agency interpretations; repeals D.C. Law 25-290.

Sponsor / Committee

Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) / House Oversight & Government Reform.

House status

Full committee markup held Dec. 2, 2025; H.R. 3766 ordered reported, as amended (per Daily Digest). [1]Congress.gov — Congressional Record Daily Digest for December 2, 2025 (House Ov…

Text / Scope

Two operative clauses: (1) ban deference in D.C. judicial and administrative review; (2) repeal D.C. temporary deference law (25-290). [6]Congress.gov — H.R. 3766 bill text[7]DC Law Library — D.C. Law 25-290 — Review of Agency Action Clarification Tempor…

Related local law

D.C. enacted and later extended/codified agency‑deference language (e.g., Law 26-37), framing federal preemption stakes. [8]DC Law Library — D.C. Law 26-37 — Review of Agency Action Clarification Amendme…

Budget scoring

No CBO estimate posted; negligible direct federal outlays anticipated. [9]Congress.gov — H.R. 3766 — All Info (no CBO estimates posted)

Institutional context (119th Congress)

• Republicans hold both House and Senate majorities; Mike Johnson is Speaker; John Thune is Senate Majority Leader. [2]Wikipedia — 119th United States Congress (composition and leadership)
• Thune has committed to preserving the 60‑vote filibuster, shaping Senate floor math for stand‑alone authorizing bills. [3]AP News — New Majority Leader Thune pledges to preserve the filibuster
• Senate referral would run to Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs (HSGAC); Chair Rand Paul; DC matters sit in the Disaster Management, District of Columbia, and Census Subcommittee (Chair Hawley). [12]U.S. Senate (Sen. Paul) — Rand Paul assumes chairmanship of Senate Homeland Sec…[13]U.S. Senate HSGAC — HSGAC subcommittee chairs and ranking members (119th)
• House renamed the panel back to “Oversight & Government Reform”; Chair James Comer continues to drive D.C. oversight agenda. [14]Congressional Research Service — CRS: House rules changes renamed panel to Over…[15]House Oversight (Republicans) — Comer to return as Chairman of Oversight Commit…

Procedural Viability Check (scores 0–5)

Composite viability score: 3/5. Stand‑alone path is weak; rider path is plausible in the FY26 funding cycle.

Path to passage: scenarios

1. Stand‑alone authorizing bill: House passage plausible on a party‑line rule; Senate stalls at 60 absent unusual bipartisan support. Procedurally viable but politically weak. [3]AP News — New Majority Leader Thune pledges to preserve the filibuster
2. Appropriations rider (preferred): Try to tuck into FSGG or a broader CR/omnibus negotiated to avert a lapse before Jan. 30. Senate leverage determines survival of riders; D.C. riders are common House asks but frequent Senate trade‑aways. [4]Washington Post — House Republicans eye broad D.C. riders in FSGG spending bill[5]Reuters — Senate advances deal to end Oct–Nov 2025 shutdown; funding runs to Ja…
3. Conference/mini‑bus strategy: If leadership assembles a mini‑bus containing FSGG, House can posture with a rider and bargain against Senate priorities; final call sits with Senate leadership and HSGAC cardinal input. [4]Washington Post — House Republicans eye broad D.C. riders in FSGG spending bill

Key power dynamics

• House: Comer can move D.C. pieces; leadership can package for floor. Internal GOP turbulence reduces predictable floor time but not committee throughput. [15]House Oversight (Republicans) — Comer to return as Chairman of Oversight Commit…
• Senate: Thune controls floor and has signaled no rules changes; HSGAC Chair Paul and DC Subcommittee Chair Hawley are ideologically aligned with the bill’s thrust, but they can’t solve the 60‑vote problem alone. [3]AP News — New Majority Leader Thune pledges to preserve the filibuster[12]U.S. Senate (Sen. Paul) — Rand Paul assumes chairmanship of Senate Homeland Sec…[13]U.S. Senate HSGAC — HSGAC subcommittee chairs and ranking members (119th)
• Local optics: D.C. leaders oppose federal preemption; opposition signals give Senate Democrats an easy reason to demand stripping the rider in negotiations. [16]Executive Office of the Mayor (DC) — DC Mayor/AG/Council Chair joint statement…
• Policy backdrop: Loper Bright killed Chevron; D.C. responded by codifying local deference (25‑290, then 26‑37). H.R. 3766 is framed as federal preemption of that posture—material for messaging but not a budget lever. [10]LII / Cornell Law — Loper Bright v. Raimondo (opinion text)[7]DC Law Library — D.C. Law 25-290 — Review of Agency Action Clarification Tempor…[8]DC Law Library — D.C. Law 26-37 — Review of Agency Action Clarification Amendme…

Timing window and vehicles

• House floor: Earliest practical window is after committee reports are filed; December is crowded with NDAA and post‑shutdown cleanup. Packaging into a January vehicle is more realistic.
• Senate: Any floor time consumes scarce December days and still needs 60; practically, the only near‑term path is as part of a negotiated funding measure before Jan. 30. [5]Reuters — Senate advances deal to end Oct–Nov 2025 shutdown; funding runs to Ja…
• Vehicle hierarchy: FSGG is the natural host; if leadership goes to a single CR, staff can still negotiate policy anomalies, but controversial D.C. riders are prime cut material in bipartisan deals. [4]Washington Post — House Republicans eye broad D.C. riders in FSGG spending bill

Risks and tripwires

Bottom line

Where this lands by end of the current funding cycle.

If leadership wants it, H.R. 3766 can clear the House. The Senate path is inhospitable unless it hitches a ride on the FY26 funding deal; even then, a D.C. rider is likely to be bargained away unless Republicans extract meaningful concessions. Net: viable as a negotiating chip; modest chance to become law as a rider; negligible chance as a stand‑alone. Composite: 3/5.