If the parliamentary infighting at the end of December is any indication, next year will be far from smooth sailing for either party. Virtually no Republicans are happy. And although the Democratic Party managed to end the year with three consecutive losses to far-left teams, it is unclear how far they can (or want to) run from their own camp.
First up is the Grand Old Party. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) has a serious bad habit of making promises he can't seem to keep, and funding battles are no exception.
If you believe in the ghosts of Christmases past and present, future Christmases promise painful visitations.
Johnson has promised an open, committee chair-led process that will eschew the traditional Christmas omnibus spending package and give members at least 72 hours to read the bill before voting. The process is opaque. Committee chairs are excluded. The shape of the package looks like a small omnibus. Given that the deadline is Friday at midnight, I just barely made it in the 72-hour reading time. The Senate will then take up the issue. It's going to be a long weekend on Capitol Hill.
Conservatives like Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) are furious about the process, the spending, the ethanol subsidies, and the handouts to Democrats. Mainstream Republicans like Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (R-Missouri) are angry that neither they nor their priorities appear to be included in the negotiations. And the Trump transition team is none too pleased that the Trump administration is repeating the shebang again in March when funding dries up (just when the Trump team is hoping to build momentum).
However, that last part may be a blessing in disguise. Republicans are just weeks away from taking control of the House, Senate and White House. That will pit the two parties against each other again, but it will be difficult for the United Party to tie President-elect Donald Trump's hands to Ukraine funds and other areas in which he wants to maintain maneuverability.
And Johnson can be expected to give up a pound of flesh for all his disappointment. But don't expect him to lose his job. Neither Mr. Trump nor Mr. Johnson's colleagues have the energy to endure a long leadership contest with the House of Representatives still open.
Conservatives can demand the speakership in exchange for votes, but what happens to those already in the chair, like Mr. Smith? All Johnson has to offer them is his word, but that's not worth much at this point. What must he do to appease them?
And speaking of bickering, Democrats have some dirty laundry. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York) lost to Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Virginia) in her bid to become Democratic chairman of the House Oversight Committee in the next Congress. AOC has only been in Congress for six years, but her photogenic radicalism has made her one of the party's biggest stars and a huge draw for the Democratic base.
Party leaders spent years crouching and kneeling in the shadow of the far left after they successfully used the death of George Floyd to take full moral authority, but it's time. Last year, the team suffered loss after loss, with both Rep. Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.) and Rep. Cori Bush (D-Missouri) losing in controversial primaries. And now this.
While Connolly is a hard-working and serious investigator, she is more than twice AOC's age and is battling esophageal cancer, making her rejection by 131 Democrats all the more revealing. .
Next year has not yet been written, but if we believe in the ghosts of Christmases past and present, future Christmases promise painful visitations.
Blaze News: 'Darkness and secrecy': Congress fails to finalize funding bill just days after deadline
Blaze News: Democratic lawmaker defeats AOC to take top spot on major committee
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