Congress back on track for government shutdown

Congress couldn’t fairly get its act collectively to cross 4 spending payments and avert a partial government shutdown final week.

So it tries once more this week.

But right here’s the catch.

Only in Congress-logic would you add two payments to the combo and provides your self one much less day to finish all the things.

Lawmakers should now approve six spending packages earlier than Friday. But neither the House nor Senate return to session till Tuesday evening. 

So, right here we go once more.

POWERLESS OVER POWER: AFTER SHIFTS IN GOP LANDSCAPE, MCCONNELL’S LEADERSHIP DRAWS TO A CLOSE

“Watching House Republicans is like watching a football team whose best play is the punt and block,” mentioned Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. “We blocked the (Senate Minority Leader Mitch) McConnell, R-Ky., supplemental. But we punt yet again on needed spending cuts.” 

That mentioned, there’s brimming optimism amongst bipartisan, House and Senate leaders that Congress will keep away from a shutdown early Saturday morning. The sides launched a common plan over the weekend to lump collectively funding payments for Military Construction/Veterans Affairs, Transportation/Housing, Agriculture, Energy & Water – plus two new payments: a measure to fund Commerce, Justice and Science applications, plus Interior. 

The plan is for the House to advance this package deal on Wednesday. The Senate on Thursday or Friday – slightly below the wire earlier than the 11:59:59 pm et deadline.

These payments symbolize lower than a 3rd of all government funding. The larger drawback emerges on March 22. That’s when the remainder of the spending payments come due. And the calisthenics required to cross these payments is anticipated to be exponentially tougher.

First of all, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., lengthy pledged that he wouldn’t assist any extra Band-Aid spending payments. Congress has now authorised 4 interim spending measures to forestall government shutdowns since fall. Johnson has presided over three of them. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., pushed by way of the preliminary one on the finish of final September. Just doing that interim spending invoice final autumn is strictly what price McCarthy his job. 

Speaker Mike Johnson is holding agency to his place on needing border safety measures in trade for Ukraine assist.

Yet Johnson remains to be right here with nary a problem to his management.

Make sense?

Not actually. But that is the place we’re.  

Johnson discovered himself on the defensive a number of days in the past when he and different leaders introduced the newest punt. Some indignant Republicans say they discovered concerning the newest mulligan by way of Twitter or X. But Johnson known as the fourth stopgap invoice a “process CR.” That’s brief for “Continuing Resolution,” an emergency invoice which merely renews all funding at present ranges to keep away from a shutdown. But nobody had ever heard the time period “process CR” earlier than Johnson deployed it.

Johnson mentioned that Republicans would have “72 hours to review” the tranche of six payments which they welded collectively. That’s true. But the House voted within the early afternoon Thursday to easily re-up the outdated funding – although that invoice had not been posted for three days. House Republicans often insist they’ve a three-day grace interval earlier than voting on a invoice. But Johnson ditched that provision – though one may argue there wasn’t a lot to learn because it merely greenlighted the outdated funding.

But a CR is a CR is a CR.

It’s nonetheless parliamentary putty.

Johnson swore he wouldn’t tangle with interim payments once more.

Hence the brand new time period a “process CR.”

“We have continued with the CRs and the same policies that I voted against on September 30, the last act of the previous Speaker,” complained Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., chairman of the House Freedom Caucus. “I’ve described it as a failure. I think it was another terrible decision.”

REPUBLICANS SAY HUNTER BIDEN DEPOSITION REVEALS INCONSISTENCIES IN WITNESS TESTIMONY

The House voted to avert a shutdown 320-99 Thursday afternoon. But as has turn into de rigueur within the Republican-controlled House, far more Democrats supported the plan than GOPers. 207 Democrats voted sure. Only 113 Republicans voted yea. That’s a delta of 94 votes. Ninety-seven Republicans voted no. Only two Democrats voted nay. 

Johnson was prescient earlier within the day about placing yet one more CR on the ground.

“The appropriations process is ugly. Democracy is ugly,” mentioned Johnson. “It’s been a long road to get here.” 

Johnson’s homily failed to maneuver Good.

“I actually had a Democrat member tell me this morning ‘We like it when you’re in charge because nothing changes, but you guys get all the blame,’” mentioned Good.

(Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg by way of Getty Images)

But some Republicans argued this was all they might do, contemplating their meager 219-213 majority.

“The American people gave us a slim majority in the House,” mentioned Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., who chairs the Energy & Water Appropriations Subcommittee. “This negotiation has been difficult. But to close the government down at a time like this would hurt people who should not be hurt.”

There have been a myriad of the explanation why Republicans would possibly oppose the bridge spending invoice. There was simply the truth that it wasn’t a brand new invoice. Others famous that it reauthorized spending authorised when former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., wielded the gavel and acknowledged lots of her spending priorities. And then there was the southern border.

“Any continuing resolution has got to have border control,” mentioned Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. “So if you’re so scared to shut the government down, and won’t take a risk on shutting the border down, there is a problem.”

SEN. FETTERMAN CONDITIONALLY EMBRACES GOP BORDER BILL

Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., joined Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., as the one two Democrats to oppose the latest CR. Quigley says he’s opposing CRs till lawmakers cross a invoice to help Ukraine. 

“There’s no other way for me to draw attention (to Ukraine) other than to travel there,” mentioned Quigley.  

And so over the weekend, the six-bill combo measure for this week hit the in-boxes of lawmakers. The House will contemplate all of these payments collectively directly. House Republicans have been detest to cross something characterised as an “omnibus.” That’s the place Congressional leaders glue all 12 appropriations payments collectively. Six payments is conceivably a “mini-bus” – though some conservatives could quibble with that. 

WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 07: Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) arrives to a luncheon with Senate Republicans on the U.S. Capitol on February 07, 2024, in Washington, DC. The Senate didn’t cross laws consisting of immigration and border safety tacked on with international assist for Ukraine and Israel, and are working towards passing laws with out together with the border and immigration component that Senate Republicans take problem with. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Johnson continues to say that the House has damaged the “omnibus fever.”

Just for the document, there’s no clear definition in Congress as to what constitutes an “omnibus” invoice or a “minibus” invoice. However, it’s typically understood that every one 12 payments latched collectively is an “omnibus.” Anything much less might be a “minibus.”

Still, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., noticed the punt coming final week. He anticipated Congressional leaders dumping the invoice on the ground as one huge invoice.

“This is the old way of doing business where the leadership gets behind closed doors, disappears for a few weeks with something and says ‘take it or leave it,’” mentioned Massie. “There are no amendments. There’s no changing it. And I think we need to reject that notion.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

What we haven’t talked about but is the SECOND slab of the remaining six spending payments due March 22. Those embrace extra nettlesome, controversial coverage areas. Defense. Homeland Security. And Labor/Health and Human Services. The latter two may be significantly tough. That’s as a result of the border is a serious problem. So too is abortion and the latest Alabama Supreme Court ruling on IVF and embryos.

Congress could lastly really cross payments to fund the government this week. But the larger take a look at looms later this month. And all bets could also be off for each Johnson – and the probabilities of a government shutdown – if lawmakers stumble with the following spherical of funding.