U.S. Senate See Full Big Line

(D) J. Hickenlooper*

(R) Somebody

80%

20%

(D) Joe Neguse

(D) Phil Weiser

(D) Jena Griswold

60%

60%

40%↓

Att. General See Full Big Line

(D) M. Dougherty

(D) Alexis King

(D) Brian Mason

40%

40%

30%

Sec. of State See Full Big Line

(D) George Stern

(D) A. Gonzalez

(R) Sheri Davis

40%

40%

30%

State Treasurer See Full Big Line

(D) Brianna Titone

(R) Kevin Grantham

(D) Jerry DiTullio

60%

30%

20%

CO-01 (Denver) See Full Big Line

(D) Diana DeGette*

(R) Somebody

90%

2%

CO-02 (Boulder-ish) See Full Big Line

(D) Joe Neguse*

(R) Somebody

90%

2%

CO-03 (West & Southern CO) See Full Big Line

(R) Jeff Hurd*

(D) Somebody

80%

40%

CO-04 (Northeast-ish Colorado) See Full Big Line

(R) Lauren Boebert*

(D) Somebody

90%

10%

CO-05 (Colorado Springs) See Full Big Line

(R) Jeff Crank*

(D) Somebody

80%

20%

CO-06 (Aurora) See Full Big Line

(D) Jason Crow*

(R) Somebody

90%

10%

CO-07 (Jefferson County) See Full Big Line

(D) B. Pettersen*

(R) Somebody

90%

10%

CO-08 (Northern Colo.) See Full Big Line

(R) Gabe Evans*

(D) Yadira Caraveo

(D) Joe Salazar

50%

40%

40%

State Senate Majority See Full Big Line

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

80%

20%

State House Majority See Full Big Line

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

95%

5%

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
November 14, 2023 10:21 AM UTC

Right Wing Republicans Reject THEIR OWN Federal Funding Proposal

  • 4 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

The federal government will shut down just after midnight on Friday if Republican House Speaker “MAGA” Mike Johnson can’t work out a deal that will satisfy the competing factions of both the House Freedom Caucus and “reality.”

In order to keep the lights on in this country, Johnson will likely be forced to resort to the same failsafe that cost his predecessor (Rep. Kevin McCarthy) the Speaker’s Office just one month ago: Asking Democrats to bail his ass out. As The Washington Post reports:

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) faces a rebellion on his right-flank for advancing a plan to end the government shutdown that was originally hatched by the same conservative faction that now opposes it. [Pols emphasis]

On Monday night, GOP leaders announced that they will need to rely on Democratic votes to approve a proposal to keep the government funded, reflecting the growing number of far-right lawmakers who said they would refuse to help Johnson advance the legislation.

Johnson’s plan, pitched this weekend to the GOP caucus, was intended to give conservatives greater leverage in future fights over federal spending. Adopting an idea pitched by Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, Johnson’s proposal sets up two deadlines for when different parts of the government would run out of money, which was intended to give Republicans more chances to cut spending in January and February.

The first sentence in this story is a textbook example of a great lede. You almost don’t even need to read any further to understand what is happening in Congress right now.

Johnson is trying to move forward with this two-tiered proposal that was literally crafted by House Freedom Caucus member Andy Harris. But right-wing Republicans, including Freedom Caucus member Chip “Colonel Sanders” Roy, are blanching at actually moving forward with this idea because it doesn’t immediately cut spending. House and Senate Democrats are refusing to agree to any further spending cuts because they feel (rightfully) that they already played this game. Back in May, McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell worked out a federal budget with Democrats and the White House that averted a catastrophic default on federal debts that likely would have launched the entire world into a recession. Here’s more on the plan that MAGA Republicans supported until they didn’t:

Under Johnson’s plan, Congress would fund roughly 20 percent of government agencies at their current levels through Jan. 19. His bill would then fund the other 80 percent of agencies through Feb. 2, also at current funding levels. (These numbers exclude automatic funding for programs like Social Security and Medicare.) At least in theory, that would require Congress to take up funding the government in two distinct steps this winter, which is why some lawmakers refer to Johnson’s bill as a “laddered” or “bifurcated” plan.

This move to split up fights over government funding might seem a procedural matter of little real-world consequence. But Johnson has hoped it could prove a real victory for conservatives. Right-wing lawmakers have long complained that Republican leadership often works with Democrats to jam through huge spending bills right before the Christmas recess, when lawmakers are itching to go home, instead of voting on each part of the government separately. (The federal government is technically funded through 12 different appropriations bills, but when it can’t pass each one individually, Congress typically packages these together in what is called an “omnibus.”)

There are justifiable concerns that this two-tiered proposal will only increase the chances of another government shutdown later. For one thing, trying to pass a budget in two parts makes it difficult to grasp the amount of the total federal budget once both parts are theoretically completed. The other worry is that Congress will feel less urgency to fund programs that are less interesting politically (for example, it is easier to craft a narrative for funding for the Department of Defense than it is for, say, the Food and Drug Administration).

And as Claudia Grisales of National Public Radio reports, House Republicans may reach fisticuffs before they can come to an agreement:

 

We say it all the time: Elections matter. When you put silly people in charge and ask them to govern, you end up with unserious proposals and petty squabbling at the expense of the American people.

Do Republicans just not want to govern? Or are they incapable of governing?

Does the answer really matter?

Comments

4 thoughts on “Right Wing Republicans Reject THEIR OWN Federal Funding Proposal

  1. The NYTimes coverage has much better content and analysis.  (FYI – I'm gifting both WaPo and NYT articles so that everyone can access them).

    "The alliance that came together on Tuesday reflected a reality that two consecutive Republican speakers have now reluctantly embraced this year: The House G.O.P. lacks the political will to keep the government funded, forcing its leaders, operating with only a tiny majority, to rely on Democratic votes to do so. In the days leading up to this week’s funding deadline, some hard-liners in Mr. Johnson’s conference had suggested that Republicans should let the government shut down and use that as leverage to try to force lower spending levels."

    "On Tuesday, some of the same hard-line conservatives who moved to oust Mr. McCarthy vented their anger at Mr. Johnson. The House Freedom Caucus, a group of approximately three dozen hard-right lawmakers, announced ahead of the vote that it would oppose the measure."

    "But in a sign that there was little appetite to depose Mr. Johnson for relying on Democrats to pass the legislation, as they did to Mr. McCarthy, the lawmakers continued, “While we remain committed to working with Speaker Johnson, we need bold change.”

    All but two Democrats votes yes, and more than half of Republicans, in a sign they are tired of the antics of their FreeDumb partners.

    "The vote was 336 to 95, clearing the two-thirds threshold required for passage. In the end, 209 Democrats and 127 Republicans joined to pass the bill. Ninety-three Republicans opposed it, as did two Democrats."

  2. Averting the 3rd possible government shutdown in 2023. 

    Perhaps someone could examine the economic reaction to a low inflation report and news there not be a shutdown for Thanksgiving / Black Friday / Small Business Saturday / Cyber Monday.  That government employees will not only be facilitating holiday travel, but will continue to draw paychecks as usual.

    Dow Jones: +489.83 (1.43%)  

    S&P 500: +84.15 (1.91%) 

    NASDAQ 100: +329.69 (2.13%) 

    Russell 2000: +92.82 (5.44%)

Leave a Comment

Recent Comments


Posts about

Donald Trump
SEE MORE

Posts about

Rep. Lauren Boebert
SEE MORE

Posts about

Rep. Yadira Caraveo
SEE MORE

Posts about

Colorado House
SEE MORE

Posts about

Colorado Senate
SEE MORE

63 readers online now

Newsletter

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to stay in the loop with regular updates!