House Republicans, stumbling over demands from the right-wing Freedom Caucus, have failed to get even half of the 12 must-pass spending bills across the finish line, while the spending legislation that has passed is full of extreme provisions that Democrats in the Senate are certain to reject out of hand. Instead of working overtime, however, GOP leaders are canceling the remaining votes and sending House members away on summer recess — a week early — as the September deadline to avoid a government shutdown edges closer.
The decision to go on break is a reversal of Speaker Mike Johnson's earlier pledge to pass the bills that would fund the federal government through the 2025 fiscal year before the summer recess. Initially, it looked as if House Republicans might succeed — GOP appropriators managed to get all 12 bills onto the House floor and strip an abortion pill ban amendment from an Agriculture bill that doomed its passage last year.
But the string of good fortune could not last, as Johnson now faces the same intra-party fighting that toppled his predecessor, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Far-right Republicans have vowed to vote against bills they argue do not sufficiently advance conservative priorities, forcing Johnson to pull several of them from the floor, including a bill to fund the legislative branch; the Energy and Water bill was also yanked away Tuesday, mere moments before a scheduled vote. Others, like an Interior Department and Environmental Protection Agency bill that would strip the latter's funding by 20 percent, passed by the narrowest of margins due to largely united Democratic opposition and GOP defections.
Those bills have satisfied most of the House Republican Conference by including partisan riders and steep cuts to federal agencies that will face certain opposition in the Democratic-controlled Senate, where 60 votes are required to pass most legislation. The prospect of stalled negotiations and a shrinking timeline has given heartburn to many Republicans who want to wrap things up before campaign season begins in earnest.
"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,” Rep. David Joyce, R-Ohio, complained to The Washington Post.
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One bill meant to fund the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, as well as related agencies like the Social Security Administration, would reduce their collective budget by 11%, which Democrats say will impoverish millions of Americans. Three spending bills for the departments of Defense, State and Homeland Security would prohibit paid leave for Pentagon employees who get an abortion and strip the Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security of their salaries.
Even House GOP leaders acknowledge that such measures, which already passed with almost no bipartisan support in the House, will be rejected by the Senate. When the House returns from recess, Congress will have one more month to send all the government funding bills to President Joe Biden's desk or punt negotiations until after the election. Otherwise, the well dries up on September 30 and will lead to a government shutdown.
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