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2024-12-20 Home Front: Politix

[HotAir] Well, you certainly could have fooled us. Plan A for Speaker Mike Johnson was to collaborate with Democrats to pass a CR and partial omnibus with lots of pork for everyone. When that collapsed in a hailstorm of recrimination, Plan B relied on House Republicans to unite on a purer CR with a debt-ceiling lift. Once again, House Republicans refused to take "yes" for an answer in an embarrassing floor vote last night.

Now Johnson is telling reporters that a Plan C to avoid a government shutdown tonight is emerging, although no one knows what it might entail.

So what are the options for Plan C? Punchbowl News looks at four options, the first of which is a non-starter -- putting Plan B up for another vote, this time through Rules. That would be a great plan, except that you'd need all of the Republicans to vote for it. So ...

2) A negotiated settlement. Although Trump might not like it, Democrats have a price. Johnson can get together with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and figure out what Democrats need to support a bill to fund the government past tonight.

The problem for Johnson is this runs the risk of both dividing the House Republican Conference and angering Trump by trying to again cut a deal with Jeffries. Democrats have to be convinced Johnson won’t renege again, as well as being able to deliver enough votes. Sources close to Jeffries say they can deliver the votes. The question is can Johnson?

3) Drop the debt-limit increase. If Johnson were to drop the debt-limit increase from Thursday’s bill, that might be an attractive option for Republicans and even some Democrats. Remember, that’s a three-month CR with disaster funding and an extension of the farm bill. With a shutdown just hours away, this isn’t a bad move.

Plus, many Republicans are truly opposed to Trump’s call to extend the debt limit now. Congress is six months ahead of any debt-limit deadline. Also, Trump also dropped this demand into lawmakers’ laps two days before a shutdown.

4) A short-term CR. There was some talk inside the GOP leadership and among rank-and-file members about a short-term CR to fund federal agencies until early or mid-January. But this wouldn’t change the current reality: Johnson has a very small majority, he has to deal with a volatile incoming president, face down an emboldened mega-billionaire with a social media platform and has a generally uncooperative House Republican Conference.

Of all these options, #3 looks like the most viable. It doesn't require much support from Democrats and allows a Republican Senate to then deal with the debt ceiling. It also allows the skinnier CR without the CRomnibus spending and weird nomenclature changes to pass so that all of the future spending decisions can get made with Republican control of both floors in Congress.

ANNA PAULINA LUNA just came out of the speakers office and said there will be a vote on “something very similar to yesterday.”

She said Rs will not negotiate with Dems.

She also said vote at 10, which I’ve been told is an ambitious internal leadership goal not meant to be…
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) December 20, 2024

Update: Politico suggests that the debt ceiling is the real prize, and that both Trump and Johnson think this is the right time to have the fight:

Right or wrong, there also seems to be a belief among some people close to Trump that some sort of debt ceiling disaster is around the corner and thus this needs to be dealt with now.

Behind that thinking is a fear that Democrats are so eager to trip up Trump, that when the debt ceiling next needs to be raised, they’ll demand the GOP make politically impossible concessions. Republicans will then either cave to Democrats’ demands or they’ll cause a breach of the debt ceiling, precipitating an economic catastrophe in Trump’s first year back in office.

Under this logic, these Trump world figures argue that it’s better to face a shutdown now to try to resolve the issue.

Posted by DarthVader 2024-12-20 10:33|| || Front Page|| [11129 views ] Top

#1 Resign in disgrace and commit seppuku?

Posted by DarthVader 2024-12-20 10:36|| 2024-12-20 10:36|| Front Page Top

#2 ...no, we're a little tight on Rs in the room.

Posted by Procopius2k 2024-12-20 11:24|| 2024-12-20 11:24|| Front Page Top

Get the fok rid of pantywast Johnson. Bring in Tom. He can be the speaker AND run the border.

Posted by Besoeker 2024-12-20 13:56|| 2024-12-20 13:56|| Front Page Top

#4 The Swamp creatures don't understand yet that the game and the rules have changed. This last vote was all the same old $hit. The people won't stand for that anymore and neither will the Don I don't believe.

Posted by alanc 2024-12-20 19:01|| 2024-12-20 19:01|| Front Page Top

#5 The Swamp creatures don't understand yet that the game and the rules have changed. This last vote was all the same old $hit. The people won't stand for that anymore and neither will the Don I don't believe.

Posted by alanc 2024-12-20 19:32|| 2024-12-20 19:32|| Front Page Top

#6 The ability of the legacy media to hide it has been 'trumped' by the new media to expose it in near real time.

Posted by Procopius2k 2024-12-20 19:43|| 2024-12-20 19:43|| Front Page Top

#7 No hide the ball in a mire of detail, pork and many pages to insure that bills never get read. The bill comes out of committee loaded with pork by the lobbyists and is shoved at Congress for a full vote at the last minute. Then you get an asinine statement by the Speaker of the House saying "You've got to pass the bill to read it."

How about short single issue stand-alone bills for an up or down vote?

Posted by JohnQC 2024-12-20 20:27|| 2024-12-20 20:27|| Front Page Top

04:04 Grom the Affective
02:32 Fairbanks
00:43 Skidmark
00:24 Skidmark
00:19 EMS Artifact
00:06 Rambler
00:03 Rambler