As House goes home, Senate border talks continue
House easily approves major defense bill
Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for December 15, 2023:
New GOP map claims third Democrat in North Carolina.
Freedom Caucus takes another ‘L.’
The red ink keeps rising for Uncle Sam.
CONGRESS. Instead of starting an extended holiday break today, the Senate will be back on Monday for an unplanned week of work before Christmas, as key Senators keep trying to come up with a compromise border security plan. Both sides again said there had been progress - but in the hallways of the Capitol it sure didn’t feel like a deal was imminent.
TALKS. "My state deserves better than politics as usual," said Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who has been deeply involved in the border policy negotiations. "With our border in complete crisis, we won’t accept 'nothing.'"
GOP. Republicans again made clear they weren't going to be pushed into a deal. "The White House didn’t come to the table to negotiate until three days ago," said Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), who has served as the GOP point man on these talks.
NEXT WEEK. "The Senate will return on Monday," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. "That will give negotiators from the White House, Senate Democrats, and Senate Republicans a time to work through the weekend in an effort to reach a framework agreement."
UKRAINE. Some GOP Senators indicated they wouldn't be coming back next week. That aggravated Democrats, who want to cut a deal on border security to unlock aid for Ukraine. "You can't say that our border is a national security crisis and then skip town for three weeks," said Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO).
HOUSE. The House left town on Thursday morning, and is not due back until January 9, as GOP leaders made no apologies for going home. "When Democrats get serious about border security, the House stands ready to do its work," said Speaker Mike Johnson.
NDAA. The House on Thursday easily approved a compromise defense policy bill for 2024, sending that measure to the White House. The vote was 310-118 in favor of the plan. "Our nation faces unprecedented threats," said Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), who chairs the House Armed Services Committee. "I urge President Biden to quickly sign this bill into law."
GOP. Among Republicans, there was a sharp divide over what this bill does. For Rogers, it 'guts Biden's woke agenda.' "We successfully fought to push back against woke ideology in our military," said Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR).
GRUMBLING. But others dissented loudly. "This legislation is woke, weaponized, and wrong for America," grumbled Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA), a day after the Senate approved the same bill 87-13.
MARGIN. Maybe the most surprising part of the final NDAA vote was that more Democrats voted for the defense bill than Republicans. The GOP broke 147-73 in favor, while Democrats voted 163-45 for the Pentagon policy plan.
ALLIES. That split produced some unique allies on the House vote board. For example, voting against the bill was Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). Also voting against the defense bill was Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
HOUSE FLOOR NERD NOTE. Most people probably missed it, but there was one House vote on Thursday which made clear the bad feelings between the Freedom Caucus and GOP leaders. And it again showed how the Freedom Caucus has a big bark, but not a lot of votes.
ADJOURN. Frustrated by the details of the finalized defense bill, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) retaliated by calling for an unexpected vote on a motion to adjourn. That delayed lawmakers who wanted to rush to the airport to head home.
FAST GAVEL. The GOP leadership evidently wasn't too pleased with the Roy adjournment move, because they gaveled the vote to a close much faster than usual. 103 members missed the vote, as Roy lost 307-23.
VOTE NO. "I'm terribly disappointed that we brought this bill to the floor and that it passed," said Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) of the defense bill. (We are in different times, where Republicans now are openly denigrating a Pentagon policy bill.)
MAJORITY. The NDAA was also one more example this year of how bipartisanship works in the House. It usually results in the Freedom Caucus being in the minority, denouncing whatever gets passed into law.
ABORTION. I wrote a lot this week about abortion - and you're going to hear much more about it in 2024, as the U.S. Supreme Court will deal with another major abortion controversy in an election year. This time, it's the abortion pill - and the political fallout could again cause trouble for the GOP. More in my column for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
TUBERVILLE. The Senate moved last night to help several hundred senior military officers whose nominations were held up this year by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) - in a dispute over abortion policy at the Pentagon.
NOMINEES. Senators approved a bipartisan bill to grant back pay to the officers who were delayed by the battle over a new Pentagon policy that gives time off and travel to active-duty women who need abortion services. The plan still needs approval in the House.
STILL ON HOLD. The extra time in session next week for the Senate could be used to free up some officers who are still on hold. Tuberville has said he wants votes on eleven nominees for four-star general or admiral. It's very possible that some of those officers may have to be renominated in the new year.
REGULAR ORDER. The holiday season is here - treat yourself to a daily dose of ‘Regular Order’ - or why not give someone the gift of straight news, and buy them a subscription. If that doesn’t work, you can always just buy me a drink for the holidays.
DEFICIT. While the Congress can't agree as yet on how much the federal government should spend for 2024, the budget deficits keep piling up for Fiscal Year 2024 already. The latest figures out this week show Uncle Sam ran a deficit of $314 billion last month. Yep. $314 billion in red ink in just one month.
NUMBERS. Revenues in November were $275 billion. Spending was at $589 billion - which included $72 billion just in interest on the national debt. So, after two months of the new fiscal year, the deficit is already at $380 billion - up from $336 billion at the same point a year ago.
LAST YEAR. Two months don't make a trend, but let's compare October-November of 2022 with October-November of 2023. Tax revenues are up $108 billion this year - but spending is also up by $151 billion. (That’s not a good combo.)
STRAIGHT TALK. Those numbers are unacceptable. You know it. I know it. We all know it. The problem is that no one is really doing anything about it - and no one has been trying to do anything about it for over a decade.
FAREWELL. After the House completed legislative business on Thursday, a number of Republicans stuck around to pay tribute to ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who will be resigning from Congress effective at the end of this year. McCarthy took to the House floor for one final speech.
MCCARTHY. Elected in 2006, McCarthy quickly made his way into the GOP leadership after two terms. "I loved every single day," he said, rattling off successes during his abbreviated time as Speaker. "We passed energy independence," McCarthy said. "We made it our number one priority."
H.R. 1. That's true - H.R. 1 was all about producing more domestic energy. But what makes McCarthy’s time as Speaker so odd, is that while the House passed that bill on energy independence in March - McCarthy never sent the bill to the Senate for further consideration. That still makes no sense.
CASUALTY LIST. In a surprise to many on Capitol Hill, Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-GA) announced on Thursday that he will not run for another term in 2024. First elected in 2016, Ferguson had leadership aspirations, but the Georgia Republican never was able to jump up in the House GOP.
NEW MAP. Ferguson’s decision comes as the Georgia state legislature is forging new district maps for the state. Not only will a vacant seat likely draw a lot of candidates - but it could also cause some changes in the lines for his district.
TAR HEEL. The dramatic Republican changes to the Congressional district maps in North Carolina have claimed another Democrat. Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-NC) - who was first elected in 2022 - announced on Friday that he won't run for reelection. He is the third Democrat basically forced out of office in recent weeks by the GOP move.
NICKEL. “Republicans have rigged the system to favor themselves and I don't have a path to run for reelection," Nickel said. He joins Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC) and fellow freshmen Rep. Jeff Jackson (D-NC) in deciding not to run for Congress again in 2024.
FTD. Speaking of Jackson, I saw him off the House floor yesterday with a bouquet of flowers. They were for Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC), who had helped kick off Jackson's bid for state Attorney General in North Carolina. That was his Plan B after the GOP gerrymander was approved.
EMPIRE STATE. Up in New York, the arguments are the exact opposite of what is happening in North Carolina - as Democrats are getting ready to redraw the lines - and possibly push out as many as six New York Republicans in Congress.
RIGGED. “Why are New York Democrats tossing fair maps?” asked Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY). “Because they’d rather rig the maps than try to fairly win your vote.”
NUMBERS. At this point, 33 sitting House members have decided not to return after the next election - that's 8 percent of the House. Over in the Senate, it's a 7 percent turnover. We'll see if the holidays produce more announcements.
SANTOS SEAT. The major party nominees are now set for the special election to fill the U.S. House seat of ex-Rep. George Santos (R-NY). Republicans have tapped Nassau County legislator Mazi Melesa Pilip to run against ex-Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY). That special election is set for February 13, 2024.
RAP SHEET. Two men from South Carolina have been arrested and hit with charges related to Jan. 6. Christopher Rockey and Edward Picquet were in part identified by another Jan. 6 defendant who has already pleaded guilty. Both men grappled with police outside the Capitol that day.
VOLUNTEER STATE. A Tennessee man was arrested this week on Jan. 6 charges. Bart Gore had made clear his intentions before that day. "I'd love to be the one to capture Obama or Hillary," Gore wrote. "I'd strip them naked and beat them with a belt and switch."
MUSE OF HISTORY. December 15, 1796. Times have changed in Congress. On this date, the House set about the task of forging a message *to* President Washington - in answer to his annual State of the Union message. Some House members objected to criticism of the President in the House address. "I heard gentlemen speak ill of the common parent of our country, whom we all revere," said Rep. Robert Rutherford of Virginia. "If there have been faults in his Administration, I do not think they lie at his door."
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House next expects votes on January 9.
The Senate is back on Monday.
Check President Biden’s schedule.
Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree.
Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com
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Puzzled how a National Defense Authorization Defense Bill could be "woke" I did a search.
➤ It “reiterates” that no Defense Department money is to be spent on drag shows or other events involving drag queens, the summary says, and caps base pay for Defense Department employees whose positions are primarily related to initiatives aimed at fostering diversity, equity and inclusion in the workforce.
https://wapo.st/3uYNbhH
This is really nutty since drag shows have been around forever. One of my earliest high school memories is a girl's bathing suit contest at band camp in which the "contest" which involved boys in girls' swimsuits, replete with boobs and makeup! That was in the Sixties!
And one of the annual entertainments at a retirement community where I worked post-retirement about twenty years ago was a "Womanless Wedding" in which one of the male residents (or one of the staff) was dressed as the bride.