37 Republicans say no to Trump. Hopefully, Speaker Johnson does not survive this debacle.
I almost never watch TV. But I did get to watch this one from a neighbor’s house. Thanks Sam. I made that image on my phone.
Yesterday, Speaker Mike Johnson agreed to pass a 1500+ page continuing resolution budget monstrosity.
The bill died after Elon Musk and president-elect Trump trashed it.
Johnson then slimmed the bill down to 116 pages. That bill had Trump’s support.
Not mine. But I don’t get a vote. Regardless, I was reasonably confident the revised bill would blow up, and it did.
Understanding the Math
Once Johnson stripped 1300 pages of Democrat goodies the bill was doomed in the Senate and I thought the House as well.
Sure enough, the vote was 234 against to 174 for. That is nowhere close to a majority even if you throw in 21 non-voting and 1 who voted present.
Even if there was a majority in the House, the bill was doomed in the Senate.
That means it was foolish (twice) for Johnson.
Trump Threatens to Take Down Chip Roy, One of the Only True Fiscal Conservatives
Prior to the vote, I reported Trump Threatens to Take Down Chip Roy, One of the Only True Fiscal Conservatives
Massive Republican infighting between Trump and fiscal conservatives is underway.
Trump was annoyed because Chip Roy, a member of the Freedom Caucus blasted the Trump-approved 116-page bill.
Well, I am pleased to report 37 house member were willing to stand up to Trump.
Primary Them All?
The typical reaction on X was to label Roy a RINO (Republican In Name Only) and threaten to primary him.
Roy didn’t care. He did the right thing as did 36 others.
The last thing Republicans need is constant infighting like we have had for two years, but here we go again.
The incumbent party normally loses seats in midterm elections. Yet, with an effective majority of one starting in January, you have to be extremely foolish to go after your own.
But here we are. Trump is likely still annoyed that Roy did not support Trump in the Jan 6, 2020 incident.
Roy was smiling after the vote this evening.
Dead on Arrival
Johnson will need to craft something that Republicans can sign off on. He should have done that today, but didn’t.
Perhaps he thought everyone would bow down to King Trump but they didn’t. And Johnson should have known there was this much dissent and not called this vote.
It should not be that hard to craft something a Republican majority can agree to. Throw in some budget cuts somewhere, it doesn’t much matter what, but I suggest serious hardball with Democrat priorities.
I bet I could come up with a bill in 2 hours. Just ask Roy and the 37 what they want, but make sure the bill has money for hurricane victims.
What Then?
Then the Republican House can pass the bill, perhaps with votes from Democrats in hurricane-impacted states (Two Democrats did vote Yes tonight and I bet we can shame more).
Then it would be a bipartisan bill.
Then it might immediately be dead in the Senate.
So what?
Serious Hardball is the Correct Strategy
Nothing but the hardest of hardball makes any sense here.
Pass something, then challenge Schumer to knock it down.
Then anticipate the headline “Democrats Block Disaster Relief Aid for Hurricane Victims”
Let’s see how that headline plays in Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia.
Then what?
Then thank Chip Roy (or me) for proposing serious hardball.
I used the word then 10 times in this post. I suspect that’s a record. It’s a matter of knowing when you have leverage to play hardball and when you don’t.
Dear Congress, Please Shut Down
I repeat: Dear Congress, Please Shut Down, There’s No Need to Address the Budget this Year
The Government can survive until at least March and possibly May.
This is the first time in 6 years Republicans have had the chance to play hardball. So don’t F it up.