Vacate the Illegal Aliens OR Vacate the Chair.

HOUSE SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON (R-La.) seems like a good guy. Authentic. Sincere. MAGA all the way. His job isn’t easy, though, because he must unite Republicans to marshal all the votes to take advantage of an extremely tiny majority. Obviously, Dems aren’t going to capitulate. Yet, they may just cover Johnson’s ass if he’ll only…’compromise’ with them. The question has been—will he? Well, on Thursday, he got the House to pass a continuing resolution to temporarily keep the government funded in order to avoid a shutdown over the weekend. The vote: 314-108 (106 opposed). It’s the third such CR. 

MAGA Republicans and conservatives in general view the agreement Johnson reached with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as a betrayal and as “a surrender,” even evoking threats of a motion to vacate the chair, which was used to oust Johnson’s predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, only three months ago. Johnson is in a bind. There may be an example where the G.O.P. was responsible for a government shutdown over the budget in the past that didn’t ultimately affect them adversely at the ballot box, but I’m sure I can’t remember it. What to do?

What makes negotiations so difficult is not just the spending, which is completely out-of-control and wholly unsustainable, but also the crisis at the southern border, which is as equally out-of-control and wholly unsustainable. So far, the G.O.P. signature border bill, H.R. 2, has gone nowhere quickly, just like ‘got-aways,’ or illegal aliens let go into the country on Biden’s orders. It’s particularly contentious because Dems want to capitulate to Biden’s whims and support Ukraine’s borders when our own are completely open for anyone from all over the world. Never mind the Senate is still trying to negotiate an emergency aid package for Israel and Taiwan, too.

Johnson says he won’t take up the Ukraine/border legislation, but he met with Biden earlier this week on the matter. This has understandably made MAGA world and Freedom Caucus apoplectic. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) told the Washington Examiner, “The border comes first, and it shouldn’t even be a political party issue, so yes, absolutely. If Speaker Johnson were to cave right now to the neocons in Washington and to Joe Biden … I think a motion to vacate would, unfortunately, have to be on the table.”

G.O.P. priorities are no further aid for Ukraine and southern border security, meaning declaring a national emergency and fully closing the border. Without those two things, the budget is thought to be held up indefinitely. The short-term CR doesn’t address either. These legislative wizards have extended the funding deadline for 12 discretionary appropriation bills to 3/01 and 3/07 (from 1/19 and 2/02). The Senate passed the measure 77-18 (2 opposed.) The hard work remains.

The national debt is currently an eye-popping $34.4 trillion and growing. A good summary of the ‘Johnson-Schumer deal’ from The Concord Coalition is here.

Has Johnson Worn Out His Welcome Already?

IT WAS A MIXED BAG when Mike Johnson became the new Speaker of the House. Some thought he was just what the doctor ordered to get the country well again, yet others were less certain, believing his religiosity might make him prone to praying rather than curing. One thing he is supposed to remedy is the appalling, irresponsible budget of the U.S., which was facing a Nov. 17th deadline. 

His solution? A two-part plan to extend the deadline to Jan. 19th and Feb. 2nd under what is dubbed the “Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act of 2024,” or H.R. 6363 (text here). It’s a dilatory measure thats only purpose is to avert a government shutdown this week. Some of us, including the House Freedom Caucus, oppose it for that very reason.

To some of us, a government shutdown wouldn’t be such a bad thing and could be a means to obtain much-needed concessions on the bloated budget and prioritization of spending. In Johnson’s ‘plan,’ there are no spending cuts, no border security, and not one G.O.P. (esp. MAGA) priorities furthered. The HFC put it this way in a press release on Tuesday: “Republicans must stop negotiating against ourselves over fears of what the Senate may do with the promise ‘roll over today and we’ll fight tomorrow.’”

Johnson claims it’s a ‘clean’ continuing resolution. The appropriation bills for Agriculture; Energy-Water; Military Construction-Veterans Affairs; and Transportation-Housing; and Urban Development are pushed to January while the remaining eight pieces of legislation are set for February. These include Defense; Commerce, Justice and Science; Financial Services and General Government; Homeland Security; Interior, Environment and related Agencies; Labor, Health and Human Services and Education; Legislative Branch; and State and Foreign Operations. One slightly positive thing is it isn’t the typical omnibus bill glowing like a Santa giving out goodies to the good folks who are favored by their masters in D.C. Also, there are no funding provisions for Ukraine—or for Israel. And an additional plus—for lawmakers—is they can leave for their holiday recess. Damn shame those funding their feckless and reckless will be working the entire time to pay the taxes and inflated prices the U.S. is notorious for under Brandon. 

The House has passed this mess despite the HFC’s objection. It must also be passed by the Senate (it has) and signed by Brandon in the White House before it is law, but is expected to be signed. That it goes this smoothly should worry us… 

Beware the Military-Industrial Complex. Beware the Corrupt Joe Biden.

THE FACT Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell even had to be told this is appalling, but a coalition of senators had to write him a letter urging him to ignore requests by Democrats to pass their massive omnibus spending bill before the new G.O.P.-controlled House is sworn in in January. Sens. Mike Lee (Utah), Ted Cruz (Tex.), Rick Scott (Fla.), and Mike Braun (Ind.) sent the letter on Wednesday. The letter is here.

Essentially, they said that nothing but a short-term Continuing Resolution funding the federal government until Jan. 2023 should be passed so that the new House can weigh in. There should also be no additional spending and no additional “policy priorities” included. If it’s claimed to be urgent, it must be considered on its own merits. Failure to do so, they say, disregards the wishes of the American public. 

Not that Republicans are looking out for the taxpayers’ monies: they’re very keen on upping defense spending and aid to Ukraine, which has been nothing but demanding and parasitic since their dispute with Russia. The Dems, on the other hand, are looking to increase discretionary spending to $1.6 trillion. It’s enormous. Where on Earth do they the money is coming from? Never mind, the new I.R.S. agents will stick taxpayers up for the new long-range weapons, and wealth transfers to rebuild Ukraine, its infrastructure and power grid, along with a $400 million package Biden approved from U.S. stockpiles earlier this month. Lucky us.

“I think it makes absolutely no sense for a lame-duck Congress to pass Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer’s appropriations bills,” said Sen. Cruz. “[I]f a handful of Senate Republicans decide their outgoing act is to rubber-stamp Nancy Pelosi’s spending priorities, that would be a gross abdication of responsibility and also an affront to the voters who just voted to give Republicans a majority in the House.” 

He’s right. But it’s the second time in a week the G.O.P. has coalesced around Dems in a uni-party fashion, so figure it will happen. The first was the passage, aided by the G.O.P., of the “Respect for Marriage Act,” which codified same-sex marriage into federal law. Regardless of where one may fall on the issue, the fact is, marriage has always been in province of the states — most of which have recognized gay marriage without any ‘help’ from Pelosi or Schumer. And in case that’s not good enough, in Obergefell v. Hodges, decided in 2015, the Supreme Court found same-sex marriage lawful in the decision that applies nationwide.