After many delays and high expectations, Chairman Mike Johnson made the announcement. 1,547 pages A continuing resolution that Congress would need to pass to avoid a government shutdown just days before Christmas.
The CR was originally scheduled to be announced by the weekend of Dec. 14, but due to ongoing negotiations, the funding bill was not actually revealed until Tuesday night. CR had already come under scrutiny for its timing and lack of transparency, but more defections are expected now that the text of the funding bill is actually published.
“Soon they will have to face the American people and say, 'We accumulated hundreds of billions of dollars in debt because it was easier for us.”
Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said, “I would have liked to see Speaker Johnson grow a spine, but this pork-filled bill shows him to be a weak, weak man.'' ” he said. said “The debt will continue to rise. Eventually the dollar will collapse. Democrats are ignorant and big government Republicans are complicit. Sad day for America,” he wrote in a post on X on Wednesday.
“Conservative Republicans should start an OnlyFans account because of how often they fail,” said Florida Republican Rep. Cat Cammack. said “CR is a bad deal,” X said in a post on Tuesday.
Even though the Dec. 20 deadline had been on the calendar for months, leaders had been putting CR on the back burner. As a result, lawmakers are frustrated that they are being forced to vote on funding bills days before the deadline.
“Congress took months to negotiate a clean government funding bill before President Trump's term,” said Texas Republican Rep. Michael Cloud. said In a post on Tuesday's “It's not about sex, it's about transparency.” It closed its doors to the American people. ”
“There is no strategy,” Power the Future founder and executive director Daniel Turner told Blaze News. “The goal here is just for them all to come home for Christmas and promise the American people that they're going to work on it next year. That's been the strategy for the last 20 years, business as usual on Capitol Hill.”
The CR itself contains a number of provisions that are unrelated to the bare minimum approach that many fiscal conservatives had hoped for. The funding bill includes the first pay increases for members of Congress since 2009, a withdrawal from Obamacare, $100 billion in disaster relief for hurricane victims, $30 billion in aid to farmers, and the Robert F. It includes a key provision: relocating Kennedy Stadium. District of Columbia.
In other words, Mr Johnson has put together a Christmas omnibus for MPs to act on in the 11th hour.
It is not uncommon for parliaments to publish Christmas round-ups, but it is notable that Mr Johnson said it was his intention to break with tradition.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) attended the U.S. Capitol on December 17th. Listen attentively at the Hanukkah reception held at the Capitol. , 2024, Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“We beat the Christmas omnibus,” Johnson said. said At a press conference in September. “And I have no intention of going back to that awful tradition. So there will be no Christmas omnibus. … There will be no bus service either.”
“People call me 'Nostra Thomas' because I accurately predicted that Speaker Johnson would use the Christmas break to pass a major spending bill through Congress,” said Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky. “There is,” he said. said In a post on Wednesday's X, “After insisting he doesn't, Johnson is embracing a Washington, D.C., tradition as old as decorating a Christmas tree.”
The Christmas omnibus is scheduled to continue until mid-March, about 100 days after President-elect Donald Trump takes office. As a result, President Trump was tied up and his administration lost control of its budget for the first 100 days, weakening its ability to implement the MAGA mandate that the American people voted for.
“It's very frustrating because it's always about next year,” Turner told Blaze News. “You give the American people very firm command over their spending, the cost of food, the cost of energy, the cost of goods and services, and yet they pay outrageous amounts of money to maintain their livelihoods. It makes my job easier when I see them continue to spend.”
“Soon they will have to face the American people and say, 'We accumulated hundreds of billions of dollars in debt because it was easier for us,” Turner continued. “But it's not your job to do it the easy way. It's your job to do it the right way.”
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