Conference fails to approve procedural motion to take up defense spending bill as government shutdown looms
Conference fails to approve procedural motion to take up defense spending bill as government shutdown looms
The House Republican speaker, Kevin McCarthy, was dealt his second humiliating defeat of the week on Thursday, when his conference again failed to approve a procedural motion as members continued to clash over government spending levels with just days left to avert a federal shutdown.
With no clear path forward in Republicans’ negotiations, the House concluded its work on Thursday without any stated plan to reconvene on Friday.
“Discussions related to [fiscal year 2024] appropriations are ongoing,” Congressman Tom Emmer, the House Republican whip, said in a statement. “Members are advised that ample notice will be given ahead of any potential votes tomorrow or this weekend.”
McCarthy: "hard-right Republicans want to burn the whole place down!"
Moderate Democrats: "so you'll work with us instead, to pass legislation that keeps the lights on, and addresses some of the problems we both agree exist?"
Exactly. The path forward is clear. Work with moderate Democrats to craft a bipartisan spending bill that most Democrats and Republicans can agree upon. Well either side get everything it wants? No, but that's how compromise works.
Of course the Freedom Caucus will be angry, but let's face it - they're always angry. (Hulk Smash makes for a good movie, but not for good politics.) If McCarthy works with Democrats and the saner Republicans, though, the power of the Freedom Caucus will be blunted. They can file to remove McCarthy all they like, but part of the deal with the Democrats could be that they'll vote to keep McCarthy.
Instead, McCarthy will complain while hoping that the Freedom Caucus members suddenly become reasonable.
In an insane world it’s the sane that seem insane. This is the most logical solution to all of McCarthy’s problems but it will seem so crazy to him that he won’t go for it.
Battle seat Republicans are already talking about working with Democrats to solve this problem. All of this use to be a nonissue because surprise surprise people in a long far away time once voted over party lines to get shit done, just as you said.
He is completely beholden to the far right. The approval votes by the far right were what got him just about enough votes to get him into Speakership. If they turn on him, he'll be kicked out for sure.
Not if the Dems agree to vote to keep him. He could play this like an intelligent human being and still keep his job, so long as he's willing to weather a bit of right-wing media blowback for the next few months. He just has to strike a bipartisan deal, like he's supposed to.
Moderate Democrats: “so you’ll work with us instead, to pass legislation that keeps the lights on, and addresses some of the problems we both agree exist?”
Uhhh, isn't that kind of what McCarthy actually did? He worked closely with President Biden to put this budget together and it seems to be a big reason why the Freedom Caucus morons are pitching a fit.
Not at all. McCarthy got the deal he thought he could sell to his team.
McCarthy working with the Democrats in Congress would mean getting a deal way more Democrat friendly, and forgetting about even trying to appease the freedom Caucus.
Please go on about how impossible it is to work with incorrigible dipshits who don't care about functioning government.
That must be so hard to deal with! Their refusal to negotiate in good faith must be soooo infuriating, huh Kev? It must be so frustrating to try and get a deal done and then have legislative arsonists burn the whole fuggin' thing down.
The cult of Reagan complaining how the cult of Trump won't work with others. The missing subtext being the cult of Reagan refusing to work with anyone not in a cult. A tale as old as 2016
Man politics has gotten so silly and commercialized that it's closest analog to me is professional wrestling. All of American politics is basically rich people trying to sell the kayfabe that their audience wants.
Libs pretend they're the good guys (face), and that they are here to save all the poors from the villains. But because they're all old rich people, it just seems fake and boring.
Conservatives get to do all the fun and cartoonishly evil (heel) shit. And because they're all actually evil fucks, it all sells as more authentic
My theory is that because there's a lot of Republicans trying to out heel each other, and because their kayfabe is more closely aligned with their political reality, a lot of them have forgotten that it's all kayfabe, or have grown up with it for so long they don't even know about the kayfabe.
Sadly they also shat in all of our beds. We're all going to be harmed by their actions. Sure, the republican party is going to face some large political issues, but all of us are going to be hurt by them.
Yeah, no kidding Kevin. That's your entire fucking party, though. Even the so-called "moderates" want extremely radical policies that are designed to ruin what this country is supposed to be about.
McCarthy, you made your bed, and you made it out of anti-personnel mines. It’s time to lie down in it. You’ll get no sympathy from anyone. This was entirely predictable.
McCarthy, included. The piece of shit wouldn't even allow himself to be photographed with Zelenskyy and is playing straight into Putin's hand. Disgusting.
The House Republican speaker, Kevin McCarthy, was dealt his second humiliating defeat of the week on Thursday, when his conference again failed to approve a procedural motion as members continued to clash over government spending levels with just days left to avert a federal shutdown.
A proposal to take up House Republicans’ defense spending bill failed in a vote of 216 to 212, with five hard-right members joining Democrats in opposing the motion.
The defeat was interpreted as a dismal sign for House Republicans’ prospects of approving a separate stopgap spending bill before government funding runs out at the end of the month.
The Democratic House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, chastised his Republican colleagues over their internal divisions, accusing them of jeopardizing Americans’ wellbeing for the sake of a political stunt.
“Republicans in Congress can and must defund all aspects of Crooked Joe Biden’s weaponized Government that refuses to close the Border, and treats half the Country as Enemies of the State.”
The former president, who faces 91 criminal charges over election subversion, retention of classified information and hush-money payments, as well as assorted civil lawsuits, added: “This is also the last chance to defund these political prosecutions against me and other patriots.”
The original article contains 827 words, the summary contains 203 words. Saved 75%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!