What’s Happening:
When Speaker Johnson took over the gavel, he vowed not to support President Biden’s massive spending agenda.
Democrats wanted to keep the government funded through a huge omnibus bill. Instead, Speaker Johnson wanted smaller bills, that included spending cuts.
Senate Democrats, and some Republicans, were unmoving. They refused to support measures that included cuts. Now, with the shutdown set to happen this Friday, Johnson appears to have provided a bill the left wants.
From Breitbart:
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) took to the Senate floor Monday afternoon to say he is “pleased” with Speaker Johnson for choosing not to pursue spending cuts or policy riders in the spending package, indicating he would support the approach…Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) followed Schumer on the floor expressing his support.
House Speaker Johnson has approved a continuing resolution to keep the government open that does not include any of the spending cuts Republicans had promised. He won over the support of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Mitch McConnel who applauded the Speaker’s “responsible measure.”
Johnson claimed this move was to “place House Republicans in the best position to fight for conservative victories.” But he is unlikely to get continued support from hardliner Republicans over this CR.
Far-right conservatives conspired to remove former House Speaker McCarthy, accusing him of siding with Biden and the Democrats’ agenda. It’s unknown how they will respond, in the long run, over Johnson approving a bill with no spending cuts.
The federal deficit has reached nearly $34 trillion under President Biden. House Republicans had a bargaining advantage, by holding a majority in the House. They have talked about cutting spending to help reduce inflation and spare American taxpayers more hardship.
Instead, the House is moving forward with a CR that cuts nothing from Biden’s spending plans. The only “win” for Republicans in this CR is that it does not contain Biden’s request for billions of additional funds for Ukraine. But that measure also means no additional funding for Israel or Taiwan.
Key Takeaways:
- House Speaker Johnson approved a CR bill supported by Senate Democrats.
- The new funding bill contains no spending cuts, despite promises by Republicans.
- This comes as the government faced another shutdown at the end of the week.
Source: Breitbart