House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) passed a massive $1.2 trillion government funding plan despite opposition from most House Republicans. This violates the Hastert Rule and crosses the Rubicon into dangerous territory for the future of the House Speakership.
House Republicans enacted a long-standing rule that prohibits the Republican speaker from colluding with Democrats to pass legislation. But despite considerable pressure from Mr. Johnson and his leadership team, Mr. Johnson sent the bill to the Senate despite the opposition of 112 of his Republican colleagues, with only 101 votes in favor from the Republican side. was.
Mr Johnson also violated House of Commons rules designed to give MPs time to consider legislation before voting. The more than 1,000-page spending bill was presented to lawmakers just before 3 a.m. ET Thursday, less than 36 hours before a vote.
The bill now heads to the Senate, which is working to clear hurdles and pass it by today. The partial government shutdown will technically begin after midnight on Saturday, but the impact is not expected to be felt until Monday.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said she expected Johnson to violate the Hastert Rule and to oppose the broader process, policy and spending of the unpopular bill. A motion was made for the chair to resign shortly before the meeting. The motion is not privileged, so there is no need for the House to act on it immediately. However, Green may change the motion to privilege in the future.
Marjorie Taylor Greene and Mike Johnson (Anna Moneymaker, Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
But by filing the motion on Friday, Mr. Green is increasing the pressure on Mr. Johnson. Although Mr. Johnson has withstood attacks from his fellow Republicans, he has yet to pass such a huge spending bill in the face of opposition from the party that gave him the gavel just a few months ago.
The House of Commons is scheduled to reconvene after a two-week Easter recess, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson facing a potential revolt from one side and an insistence on handing over billions in foreign aid from the other. Mr. Greene’s resolution warns that Mr. Johnson could be removed from office if he passes legislation that would fund wars with Ukraine and Russia from U.S. taxpayers.
If the Senate passes the bill as expected, Congress would begin funding next year almost immediately, which would have to be done by October. Mr Johnson will have to face much the same hurdles in trying to fund the government by that deadline, but it is unlikely that Mr Johnson will accept a funding bill passed over his objections again. .
Bradley Jay is Breitbart News’ Capitol Hill correspondent. Follow him on X/Twitter. @BradleyAJay.
