Good afternoon from Capitol Hill.
Last week President Donald Trump reminded Americans in a 100-minute speech that he will keep the promises he has made to cut government spending and waste, and restore law and order. His expansive speech covered a myriad of issues, including taxes, tariffs, DOGE, inflation and foreign policy. It was positive and forward thinking, a far cry from the angry and volatile final State of the Union address given by former President Joe Biden a year ago where he focused on American efforts overseas, rather than issues like high gas and food prices at home. America is back.
Rep. Al Green, whose vociferous conduct during the State of the Union was so disruptive that he was escorted out by the Sergeant at Arms, was censured in Congress with the help of 10 Democrats. Freshman Rep. Shomari Figures of Alabama voted present. During this vote on the House floor, Democrats joined together in solidarity with Green singing “We Shall Overcome” despite instructions from Speaker Mike Johnson to stop, so he recessed the House rather than order Green be removed again.
The government funding deadline is Friday at midnight, and the House is taking the lead in getting a clean continuing resolution (CR) passed to prevent a government shutdown. The CR is a continuation of FY 2024 spending, but with some conservative priorities attached, and will give Congress another 6 months to pass a budget. The bill draft text was released on Saturday and a vote is expected on Tuesday. The bill contains an additional $6 billion for the Toxic Exposures Fund to treat veterans with service-related exposures to toxic substances, protects Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid recipients from the disruptions and confusion a shutdown would cause, and actually reduces discretionary spending compared to last year. Critically, the bill does not include any limits on the activities of DOGE.
House Republicans plan to pass the package without any Democrat support. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has publicly stated Democrats will not provide any support and is privately whipping those in vulnerable seats against it for the sake of party unity. The Senate will also remain in session until they pass the bill, as they will be returning home for state work all next week. A CR requires a 60-vote threshold for passage in the Senate, so at least seven Democrats must vote to get this passed on Friday. Sen. Tim Kaine posted on X that this is a “shut down bill that’s bad for the economy,” but it is not clear whether Senate Democrats will pick this fight or not.
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One More Thing
Dozens of conservative leaders back clean stopgap to avert shutdown