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House GOP is in a funding stalemate once again [1]
['Marianna Sotomayor', 'Leigh Ann Caldwell']
Date: 2024-07-25
Good morning, Early Birds. Even if Kamala Harris wasn’t the likely Democratic nominee, we still support Maya Rudolph returning to SNL. Send tips to
[email protected]. Thanks for waking up with us. In today’s edition … Indivisible, Republican Voters Against Trump launch pro-Harris efforts … J.D. Vance broke off talks on bipartisan childbirth plan amid VP search … but first …
Some things never change: House Republicans and funding the government
In March, House Republicans embarked on funding the government for the 2025 fiscal year after a painful funding process the previous year that often halted governing for weeks at a time.
And just like last year, Republicans now find themselves in a stalemate of their own doing.
That’s even after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) pledged to pass all 12 bills before their month-long break from Washington in August. Johnson has been bringing bills to the floor, only to pull them from consideration before they failed as far-right Republicans take hard-line stances on their own priorities.
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At first glance, the funding process appeared to be looking up: GOP appropriators passed all 12 bills — including some controversial ones they failed to advance last year — out of the House Appropriations Committee. Plus, Republicans were able to strip a controversial abortion amendment from the Agriculture bill that doomed its passage after moderates blocked it last year.
But the same tensions remain that led to the successful ouster of then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and contributed to a motion to vacate threat against Johnson seven months later.
That much became clear earlier this month when Republicans failed to pass the Legislative Branch funding bill over disagreements surrounding member pay. Then, on Tuesday night, GOP leadership pulled the Energy and Water bill moments before a final vote to pass it, which ultimately contributed to leadership deciding to kick off August recess one week early after today’s votes.
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Before the House voted last night on a bill funding the Interior Department, Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee, said he had “no idea” if it would pass.
The bill — which some Republicans thought would fail — ended up passing, 210-205, but not without some suspense during the final minute when the vote was tied at 206 members both in support and against it. Five Republicans ended up voting against the measure.
Athina Lawson, a spokeswoman for Johnson, pointed out that the Senate has yet to consider an appropriation bill on the floor this year. House Republicans have already passed five funding bills in the same period.
“The House will continue its successful effort to responsibly fund the government for FY25 when it returns from its district work period,” she said.
No issue has plagued Republicans more than funding the government. The pragmatic “governing” bloc of the conference is willing to make concessions in the hopes of setting Johnson up to have a stronger hand in final negotiations with the Democratic-led Senate and White House.
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But that clashes with far-right members who demand all or nothing, hoping Republicans can pass red-meat bills to put the onus on the Senate to either send President Biden their ultraconservative bills or own a shutdown.
Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio), who chairs the moderate Republican Governance Group and an Appropriations subcommittee, called it an “exercise in futility” to go through an amendment process with proposals that would never get adopted rather than taking the more pragmatic approach of conferencing all 12 committee-approved bills with the Senate.
“We need to get back to the things that matter like, what bills that need to be passed between now and election time and get the hell out of here to let these people go home and campaign versus members in critical districts having to throw up stupid votes against worse amendments,” he said.
Republicans have known for months these dynamics would ultimately plague them, leaving many to predict that Johnson would have no choice but to break his promise of passing all 12 funding bills before August recess. Many within the conference have begun to discuss the obvious need to pass a continuous resolution — known colloquially as a “CR” — that would extend current fiscal levels until a certain date, preferably after the election, to avoid a government shutdown on Oct. 1.
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Republicans hoping to govern responsibly ahead of the election want to extend funding until the end of the year before passing a more robust proposal in the hopes of avoiding potential crises for former president Donald Trump to inherit if he wins back the White House in November.
But far-right members want any extension of current fiscal levels to go through early next year and include the SAVE Act, which would require voters to present proof of citizenship to vote (undocumented migrants are already barred from voting in federal elections). It’s unlikely House Democrats would support such a proposal and Senate Democrats absolutely would not consider it, likely positioning Congress to head toward a shutdown a month before the election.
“I personally wouldn’t have a problem with it unless it shuts down the CR and you end up shutting down the government. That would be a problem,” Simpson said.
At the White House
Biden is considered a master eulogist in politics, having delivered many in his life. But last night he delivered the first of what will probably be several eulogies of his own five-decade career in politics before he leaves the White House in January 2025.
“There is a time and place for long years of experience in public life,” Biden said in a speech that lasted a little over 10 minutes, as family members listened off camera. “There’s also a time and place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices. And that time and place is now.”
What we’re watching
The White House
Both Biden and Vice President Harris are scheduled to separately meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today.
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Netanyahu delivered a fiery and divisive speech yesterday to a joint meeting of Congress, where he argued it would be a national security threat for the United States not to support Israel. He didn’t discuss prospects for a cease-fire, the status of a hostage deal or how he would get more humanitarian aid to Gaza. Instead, he defended his actions in the war against Hamas and said that some dissenting Americans are believing Iranian propaganda.
We’re watching for the tone of the readout of his meeting with Biden and Harris.
Harris will also travel to Houston to deliver the keynote address at the national convention for the American Federation of Teachers, which has endorsed her.
The Senate
The Senate is going to take its first procedural vote on two bills today to protect kids online.
The pair of bipartisan bills, the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, known as COPPA 2.0, have been in the works for years. KOSA has 69 co-sponsors, far more than the 60 votes necessary to advance the legislation.
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“Together, the bills would force tech companies to take steps to mitigate potential harms to kids and widen many existing federal children’s privacy protections to include teens up to 16,” is how our colleague Cristiano Lima describes the bills.
We’ll be watching to see who doesn’t back today’s procedural vote.
The House
Ahead of leaving Washington for over a month, House Republicans are expected to vote on a resolution that would condemn Harris and the Biden administration for their handling of the border. It’s the first action on the House floor that goes after Harris since she became Democrats’ likely presidential nominee.
The economy
We are watching new GDP numbers out this morning, which often offer ripe campaign fodder.
The campaign
Indivisible launches Harris organizing effort
First in The Early: The liberal activist group Indivisible is launching a huge effort to recruit volunteers and voters for Harris. The “All in for Kamala” effort will run from today until the Democratic convention in the third full week of August.
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This is a sharp shift for the group now that Harris is expected to become the nominee and an attempt to capture enthusiasm from the Democratic base for Harris. The group had previous plans to hold policy-focused events that championed Biden’s policies but didn’t mention him by name.
A memo sent to activists provides suggestions for events to generate excitement in their communities, including hold phone banking, postcard writing parties or recruitment drives. Drop a large banner over a freeway overpass, is another suggestion.
“We want Indivisible groups around the country to help keep this momentum going by showing how excited people are to elect Kamala Harris president in their communities,” the memo says.
The group’s members voted nearly unanimously to endorse Harris on Sunday. Indivisible Action PAC is contributing half a million dollars to the effort.
Republican Voters Against Trump launches pro-Harris effort
First in The Early: Republican Voters Against Trump is launching a new $500,000 billboard campaign in the Blue Wall swing states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania featuring Republican voters who will back Harris.
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More than 70 billboards will feature voters from these three states and will dot Detroit, Grand Rapids, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Madison and Milwaukee. In one example, a billboard with a picture of Dwight from Michigan reads: “I’m a former Trump voter. I’m a gun owner. I’m voting for Harris.”
The group, which is working to sway Republican voters uneasy about voting for Trump against him, launched a similar campaign earlier this summer highlighting Republican voters who planned to back Biden.
The new billboard campaign is combined with a 60-second video version of the group’s message that will run on streaming platforms and YouTube.
J.D. Vance broke off talks on bipartisan childbirth plan amid VP search
For roughly a year, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) was working with Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) on legislation to reduce childbirth costs by prohibiting insurance companies from charging new mothers co-pays or other expenses related to childbirth — a clear break from GOP orthodoxy.
But in June, around the time Donald Trump’s campaign began seriously considering Vance as a running mate, he broke off the talks, The Post’s Jeff Stein reports.
“The break in the talks — at least for now — captures the broader puzzle facing the man who is suddenly the second-most important figure in the Republican Party,” Jeff writes. “In his brief time in the Senate, Vance indicated a vision for a more active role for the government in GOP policymaking on everything from taxes to antitrust. Vance’s allies characterize those proposals as in line with Trump’s priorities, but some of the Ohio senator’s plans — such as clawing back the pay of Wall Street executives whose banks fail — have already prompted grumbling from some Trump allies.”
“The distance between Vance’s policy positions and Trump’s raises the question of whether the Ohio senator will move the party in his direction — or whether Vance will have to jettison some of the ideas he backed as a senator,” Jeff adds.
Michael Kranish traveled to Jackson, Ky., one of America’s poorest counties, where Vance spent summers with his grandparents to flee a tumultuous life in Ohio. Vance described the region’s ruin in his best-selling book “Hillbilly Elegy,” recounting how generations of abuse and violence shaped him and his relatives. You can read Michael’s Our colleaguetraveled to Jackson, Ky., one of America’s poorest counties, where Vance spent summers with his grandparents to flee a tumultuous life in Ohio. Vance described the region’s ruin in his best-selling book “Hillbilly Elegy,” recounting how generations of abuse and violence shaped him and his relatives. You can read Michael’s full report here.
The Media
Must reads from The Post:
‘Not going to be nice’: Trump, Harris trade sharp attacks as 2024 race resets. By Sabrina Rodriguez, Hannah Knowles and Meryl Kornfield.
Why almost everyone assumes Kamala Harris has to pick a White man as VP. By Ashley Parker and Dylan Wells.
Vance once advocated that children get votes that parents could cast. By Patrick Marley.
Conspiracy theories about Biden’s covid built on years of Trump rhetoric. By Sarah Ellison and Mariana Alfaro.
Lawmaker alleges stonewalling at DHS on Secret Service report. By Jacqueline Alemany and Maria Sacchetti.
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Stay safe out there
Greeting between Prime Minister Netanyahu abd Sen. Chuck Schumer. pic.twitter.com/oH3LAnlT38 — Jeremy Art (@cspanJeremy) July 24, 2024
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[1] Url:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/25/house-gop-is-funding-stalemate-once-again/
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