The House just passed Mike Johnson’s bipartisan continuing resolution punt. Dear Republicans, please wave the white flag and surrender before doing more damage, because more damage is on the table just today.
Congress Passes Bill Keeping Government Open
The Wall Street Journal reports Congress Passes Bill Keeping Government Open as Border, Spending Fights Rage
Congress cleared legislation extending government funding into March, a step that ensures federal workers will remain on the job but does nothing to alleviate underlying political pressures stemming from high U.S. debt levels, record crossings at the southern border and an enduring war in Ukraine.
The Senate passed the measure 77-18, followed by House approval, 314-108. The two votes send the measure to President Biden’s desk with time to spare ahead of the weekend deadline. In a replay of recent votes that underscore the fragility of the GOP majority, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) relied heavily on Democrats to bring the continuing resolution across the finish line, with almost half of Republicans declining to back the measure.
Federal operations have been running on a series of continuing resolutions since Oct. 1, after then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) bucked spending hawks and put a surprise continuing resolution on the floor, only to lose his job when a bloc of Republicans engineered his ouster, in part over that decision.
The extension is designed to give congressional leaders time to hammer out full-year fiscal 2024 spending bills with an overall price tag of $1.66 trillion, a level agreed to earlier this month by leaders of both parties.
“Avoiding a shutdown is very good news for every American,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.). “No chaos, no spectacle, no shutdown,” he said.
In the vote Thursday, 107 Republicans backed the stopgap bill, with 106 voting against it and seven not voting. Johnson didn’t respond to reporters’ questions after the vote.
“It doesn’t matter who is sitting in the speaker’s seat or who has the majority. We keep doing the same stupid stuff,” said Rep. Chip Roy (R., Texas), a leader of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus.
I’ve pretty much beaten this to death so I will move on after this. But I took a lot of flack for saying, with reason, that Johnson would not do any better than McCarthy.
Perhaps the facts of the matter will sink in after this. And the facts are 8 republicans or even 20 Republicans are just not going to get their way when Republicans do not control the Senate or the White House.
The sad reality is that attempting to force spending issues Republicans could not possibly control caused delays. And with every delay, additional issues arose and more spending came into the picture.
HGOP Deal on Child Tax Credits
Amazingly, the GOP House Ways and Means Committee agreed to a ridiculous tradeoff with the Democrats that will cost $1.5 trillion over 10 years.
For discussion, please see How Much Will That GOP Deal on Child Tax Credits Really Cost?
We have a new number on the deal the House Republicans agreed to. It’s $1.5 trillion over ten years. That does not include an Affordable Housing giveaway.
In return for some tax break crumbs given to Republicans (that will also increase the deficit), Republicans are willing to give Democrats $1.5 trillion in child tax credits.
My new guess today on the price of this deal is $1.8 trillion to $2.0 trillion. I am reluctant to state a firmer number because the cost of the deal keeps rising. And that price does not include Ukraine, Israel, or the Border. Biden wants $113 for Ukraine and Israel and nothing for the border.
McCarthy’s $1.47 trillion proposal did include the border.
McCarthy’s House Bill Goes Down in Embarrassing 198-232 Vote
MishTalk September 29, 2023: McCarthy’s House Bill Goes Down in Embarrassing 198-232 Vote
21 GOP lawmakers joined all the Democrats in voting against McCarthy’s bill to avoid a government shutdown.
The McCarthy proposal would have extended government funding through Oct. 31, but at a $1.471 trillion annual rate, down from $1.6 trillion in fiscal 2023. The bill also included strict new border-security measures and the creation of a fiscal commission charged with coming up with ways to balance the budget and improve the country’s fiscal outlook.
The McCarthy proposal would have extended government funding through Oct. 31, but at a $1.471 trillion annual rate, down from $1.6 trillion in fiscal 2023. And it included funds for the border.
We are now up to $1.6+++ trillion under Speaker Mike Johnson and that does not include Ukraine, Israel, or the border.
Nor does it include the full ramifications of child tax credits that now appear to cost an average of $150 billion a year. The estimate yesterday was $78 billion a year for the entire deal.
I am now wondering the true cost of the Affordable Housing Expansion that Smith agreed to.
How Did We Get Here?
For more discussion of how we got to this absurd spot, please see my January 13, 2024 post Mike Johnson Sticks With $1.66 Trillion Budget Deal, Let’s Recap History
Question of the Day: Dear Republicans, can we please (pretty please) go back to the deal McCarthy was fired for proposing?
Bonus question: How the hell is it that Democrats can continually run circles around and run ramrod over the Republicans in every budget negotiation?
“More of This for More of That” no longer suffices as an explanation. Republicans bargain for “Bits of This in Return for Tons of That“.
It Just Doesn’t Matter
“It doesn’t matter who is sitting in the speaker’s seat or who has the majority. We keep doing the same stupid stuff,” said Rep. Chip Roy (R., Texas), a leader of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus.
Yes. I was blasted for saying that back not only in September, but January when Republicans eked out a tiny majority.
Bipartisan Bill on Mental Health
A bipartisan bill on mental health came up today, and I have questions.
OK please tell me what this will cost and how the hell we are going to pay for it.
Every delay, every one of them, rose the price tag of this bipartisan legislation.
Kevin McCarthy proposed $1.47 trillion and that included something the border. We are at least $1.8 trillion now, and I suspect closer to $2.0 trillion.
And on top of it, I have no idea if the bipartisan proposal on mental health is even included.
Enough.
Dear Republicans, please wave the white flag and surrender!
delays have put ukraine/warmonger spending in jeopardy.
and it is likely that congress will have to cast exclusive/direct votes for any future warmonger budgets.
this is a win.
not a huge win, but still a win.
not disagreeing w/ Mish’s position here, but there is a larger scope to consider… derailing anonymous rubber stamp warmonger spending… dismantling omnibus legislation procedures/expectations…
i have no problem trading some politeness points for the sake of accountability/principle.
usa gov tax collects about $4 trln! usa gov spends about $6 trln per year!
IT IS OVER. IT IS BANANA REPUBLIC ON STEROIDS!
Wanted: Bond Vigilantes.
please.
I’m happy to see Mish ending this discussion. The majority rules and the complainers here can’t change a thing or offer a workable solution. Once again, the USA leads the world – unfortunately in the wrong direction. Javier Milei is a breath of fresh air but has little influence – a voice in the wilderness. Democracy destroys itself from within and those with eyes watch it unfold. I’m hopeful that Milei can effect change here, but I doubt it as long as we can continue voting to steal OPM.
But Johnson at least is blocking improved border security to give the MAGA mouth-breathers a bone to chew on as trump drags the GOP down to another electoral defeat.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/18/politics/senate-immigration-deal-trump-border/index.html
We shall see. Don’t bet your house on it.
Mike Johnson kicked the can down until Mar 2.
Yep! He passed along a beautiful CR for ALL the Dems to Cheer about! Now they have a nice blank check to spend away.
They will use the GIFT Mike Johnson HANDED TO THEM, to beef up the coffers of dissent. MJ must be so proud of being such a gutless, butt kissing, RINO!
At least KM was honest and upfront about it. We knew what we had and would get from Kevin, so we tossed him out. We replaced him with Mike who turned out to be a Wolf in sheep’s clothing. CR Mikeee we should call Him!!
Calling on MTG to please OUST THIS LOSER, and get a Real Legitimate Republican Conservative in office. This of course Assumes we have a Conservative Leader Available to pick from. Seems they are all RINO’s, Liars, Pretenders, or simply too damn Afraid to do the job we asked of them.
Get this Clown Out!!!
I agree with Tom in that the whole country is headed for a total breakdown . Question people should be asking is what will we end up with then ?
Chaos and possibly a lot of dead people. Go watch the J6: A True Timeline.
Holy crap. There’s video footage of ~ 8 guys escorting Ray Epps out of the sea of people pushed up against the last metal fence at the steps of Congress. I saw in another documentary where there’s this guy in a tan Carhart jacket & red MAGA hat that has a government issued Sig on his back waist. They figured out who he was and tried to talk with him. No dice. I swear in the video he’s got his hand on Ray Epps’ back helping him get out of dodge.
By the time they departed the scene, they knew their psyops mission had been achieved. Shortly thereafter, Epps texted his nephew and said that he helped “orchestrate” the whole thing.
After Trump finished his speech, he sent out two tweets pretty quickly. The first was about 20 minutes and the next was ~ 45 minutes after his speech ended. I never knew his tweets went out that quickly.
And the biggy was his tweet that he was calling for Pence to reject the results and send them back to the states for recounting. The shame J6 committee said this was their basis for saying he incited a riot. There was a solid 30 minutes of heavy-handed use of non-lethal munitions including CS gas before that text went out. There’s this Officer Thao who should be prosected for all the heavy handed force his was using. Within 4 minutes of Trump’s Pence tweet, the crowd pushed past the last line of metal fencing.
But, here’s part they didn’t include in their report. At nearly the exact same moment, an idiot police officer shoots a CS canister towards the crowd, but the wind immediately blew it back towards the police. I’ve seen video of police saying “we were setup”. What they meant by that was that for some unexplained reason, all of these first line guys didn’t have their gas masks, so they had to retreat into the Capital through a door. Like 40+ guys immediately clearly the area and let the crowd push past the fence that was now mostly unmanned.
And, it’s ENTIRELY possible that some commander saw Trump’s tweet, and they used the CS gas fiasco as a timely reason to let the protest get out of control.
The video is amazing. Granted, there were some protestors that got out of control and need to be sent to jail, but that’s par for the course in any riot. J6, of course, has turned into a political witch hunt.
The escorting of Ray Ells to safety was just jaw dropping.
Give me a break. If House Republicans really wanted to rein in government spending, they could. Fact is they don’t because there is a lot of pork that keeps a lot of people happy. And they know that. This is not D v R. This is money and money keeps people happy.
Frankly I do not care about the budget issues. We are less than 5 years, maybe 10 from the Bang Point when the entire fiscal situation blows up and the system implodes.
Nothing Johnson can do changes that
My main beef will be if he ALSO caves on money for Ukraine. Ukraine must get ZERO additional US Dollars or Johnson must be removed as speaker and you simply shut the damned Congress down.
Lol. Trump is trying to derail and overthrow the government again. He needs chaos to have a chance. But there won’t be chaos. Mainstream Republicans will end up voting for Biden just to avoid the Trump show. Divided government can work provided neither party caves to its extremists.
At least House GOPers are blocking improved border security to give trump something to rail about. Border security & balanced budgets become political footballs for use by GOP presidential challengers.
What’s extremist about wanting a secure border? Domestic energy independence? Domestic manufacturing of crucial necessities?
What the heck is extremist about putting American interests first?
“What’s extremist about wanting a secure border?”
Nothing. But the only long-term workable way to ensure that any boundary is secure, is to ensure asymmetric pressures are not allowed to build up on either side. As opposed to building a barrier with woefully undersized bypass valves, then letting the weight of entire world’s oceans start piling up against it. While bragging one is hence “doing something…”
“Domestic energy independence?”
In Monaco….? On Manhattan… Or my house…? Now where would the oil refineries go…. And the nuke plants…. And isn’t it easier to buy fuel from abroad, in France, or Pennsylvania, than attempting a few-thousand-miles horizontal drilling adventure just to be able to brag about “independence…”
“Domestic manufacturing of crucial necessities?”
Like bulk carriers (those are crucial) and jet liners on Manhattan….
“What the heck is extremist about putting American interests first?”
Nothing. But putting American interests first, does not have to imply absolute economic ignorance on absolutely any matter whatsoever: Things should be produced where doing so is most efficient. Modulo sufficient buffers between production and end consumption. Left to their own devices, rational actors evolve to that by themselves. No five year planning orange wackos falling down airplane stairs; while laying claim to half of productive Americans’ output at gunpoint; required.
“..government can work…”
Nope.
TDS alert
you should see a doctor!
I must sadly admit, I was very, very wrong about MJ…
I thought he had the backbone and spine to stand up against the machine. As it turned out unfortunately, he was/is a worthless suck up, and total POS for Pretending to Be a Leader!!!
I bought into His BS thinking we may have gotten a hold of a true Leader for the house. Sure as hell been long enough, since we actually had one!
So still No President, No Senate Leader, and No House Leader. “If OR Until” some of That Changes; Nothing Changes…
MJ, Your A Total Hack POS!!!
hahahah!!
you voted for bush jr twice ?
Please, China civilized this country
Question of the day is would Republicans actually benefit from a complete surrender. Sometimes it is worth waiting for the opponent to make all the wrong moves before confronting them. Unfortunately, with budget policies, it takes two to tango. So Republicans cannot just wait on the sidelines. Or can they?
It has to be recognized that the House Republican razor thin majority has become even more razor thin in recent months. It is also a fractured majority. On big policy issues, Johnson may be able to obtain unity. But a few house members sick or incapacitated takes even that off the table. Reminder: the House Republicans banned remote voting unlike Pelosi’s House when the Dems were in the majority. There are enough moderate Republicans that do not want to burn DC to the ground. As such, though always near the debt ceiling edge, the House Republicans do not have the body count to launch a fiscal frontal attack. It’s really that simple.