Freedom Caucus blocks House work again
Conservatives angered by topline spending deal
Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for January 11, 2024:
T-minus 8 days to a partial shutdown.
Hunter Biden surprises the Congress again.
Menendez claims [REDACTED] exonerates him.
HAPPY NEW YEAR. 2024 got off to a horrible start for House GOP leaders on Wednesday, as yet another rebellion by members of the Freedom Caucus blocked work on the House floor. The dispute is a familiar one - about government spending - as conservatives denounced a funding framework agreement struck by Speaker Mike Johnson, demanding steep budget cuts which can't make it through the Senate.
FLOOR. It was a familiar scene on the House floor. Speaker Johnson was standing in the middle of Freedom Caucus members, verbally duking it out over GOP tactics and strategy. He may be the Speaker - but Johnson (like Kevin McCarthy before him) - was powerless to conduct business.
BAKER’S DOZEN. 13 House Republicans voted to block debate on a series of bills unrelated to government spending: Biggs AZ, Burlison MO, Crane AZ, Good VA, Gosar AZ, Greene GA, Luna FL, Moore UT, Norman SC, Ogles TN, Perry PA, Rosendale MT, and Roy TX.
RULE. I know this parliamentary stuff might be confusing. So, let me try to explain this more bluntly. I can't tell you how unbelievable it is for Republicans to keep losing these procedural votes. It rarely happens. But now, we have seen it repeatedly as the Freedom Caucus fights with GOP leaders.
REPEAT. If you think you've read this story before - you have. The Freedom Caucus blocked work on the House floor in June, July, September, and November. And now, they're starting 2024 with a bang. "New year, same dysfunction," said Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-CA). It raised the specter of a partial government shutdown starting a week from Friday, on January 19.
SPEAKER. Asked about approving a stopgap funding plan to avoid a partial shutdown next week, Speaker Johnson didn't answer. "We have the appropriations process working on all cylinders right now," said Johnson, who originally ruled out another temporary funding extension.
SHUTDOWN. Some Republicans see a shutdown as leverage. Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) sent an email to constituents last night asking, "Do you support or oppose a government shutdown to force the White House and Congress to implement policies to secure the southern border?"
OPTION. Some Republicans were open to the idea of going into a partial shutdown on Jan. 19 - with a goal of finishing everything by the Feb. 2 deadline. The four bills which would lapse next week are Agriculture-FDA, Energy & Water, Military Construction/VA, and Transportation-HUD.
JOHNSON. The latest move to undermine the Speaker left a number of GOP lawmakers frustrated. "There are some folks who are never willing to vote for anything, because they're more interested to get on TV than they are to actually move conservative principles," said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL).
ALFRED E. NEWMAN. With this latest GOP rebellion, you couldn't help but wonder if Johnson might suffer the same fate as ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy. "I don't think I'm in any jeopardy of being vacated," the Speaker said on Fox News. "It's not something I walk around and think about."
MCCARTHY. I guess the only thing I would add is that McCarthy also thought he would survive. You might remember his infamous, "Bring it on" line, the night before he got the boot.
SENATE. With no announcement from Johnson about a CR, it's possible that the Senate might have to act first on a temporary funding measure. We'll see if Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sets a bill in motion today, before Senators go home for the weekend.
HOUSE. If no deal can be reached with the Freedom Caucus, then the House may get sent home early today as well - because there is no legislative business that can be conducted at this point without the approval of a procedural rule. The Freedom Caucus strikes again.
MENENDEZ. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) has asked a federal judge to dismiss corruption charges leveled against him by the feds - but some of the reasons that he offers for that outcome were blacked out in the document. "The Government's Allegations Are False," attorneys for the New Jersey Senator wrote repeatedly on Wednesday.
REDACTED. At eight different points in their 49-page brief, there are blacked-out sections from Menendez - making it difficult to tell you why he believes the indictments should be scrapped. "Indeed, as a key State Department official told the government pre-Indictment," Menendez argues - which is followed by three redacted lines.
BRADY. Menendez says the exculpatory material came from evidence provided by the feds. "The government never mentions these events in the Indictment because they blow up the false narrative being forced on this Court, the media, and the American public," lawyers for Menendez stated.
HUNTER BIDEN. I've seen a lot of crazy moments on Capitol Hill, and yesterday will certainly rank up there, as President Biden's son made a surprise visit to a House committee just as the panel was debating whether to hold him in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify behind closed doors. It prompted an extended verbal slugfest between the two parties.
SECRET. Just as Hunter Biden surprised everyone by coming to the Capitol to give a statement on the day he was supposed to testify behind closed doors, this latest caper was also a shocker to reporters. I found out about it as I was chasing GOP lawmakers in the basement of the Capitol.
BLUFF. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee offered to have Hunter Biden testify, but Republicans refused. "Let's vote. Let's take a vote,” said Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), who again helped run interference for Biden. “Who wants to hear from Hunter right now, today? Anyone?”
EPITOME. Hunter’s surprise appearance started hours of strident statements. "You have no balls," Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) said to Biden, who was in the front row of the audience, along with his lawyer Abbe Lowell.
MRS. GREENE OF GEORGIA. Hunter Biden didn't stay long in the hearing room - leaving just as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) started speaking. "What a coward," Greene said.
AGGRESSIVE. It's obvious to me that Democrats have decided that they can undermine any GOP meeting involving Rep. James Comer (R-KY), simply by going on the offensive and being aggressive. They have their poster boards with GOP quotes. They have video. They keep Republicans off balance. And it's clear they aren't winging it.
SMOKING GUN. I'll say this again. Hunter Biden was clearly using his family name to make money by influence peddling. But Republicans still haven't tied that to his father - not even close. If they had the goods, we would be hearing about it nonstop.
DICK PICS. Hours after Hunter Biden left the committee room, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) was in her element, showing off poster boards with multiple nekkid photos of Hunter. "She's obsessed with showing dick pics," said Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA). "This is not the Jerry Springer Show," added Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD).
RECORDED VOTE. Just to be clear, the Oversight Committee actually voted on whether it was okay for Greene to display the nekkid photos of Hunter Biden. The vote was 21-15 in favor, along party lines.
SUBPOENAS. As Republicans denounced Hunter Biden for not honoring a subpoena, Democrats reminded the GOP repeatedly about the Republican lawmakers who did the same. "If Hunter Biden's failure to appear for testimony is a criminal act," said Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), "Why is Jim Jordan doing the exact same thing only worthy of a shrug?"
OTHERS. It wasn’t just Jordan who refused to cooperate with the Jan. 6 committee. Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) - both of whom were there to see Hunter Biden - also ignored lawful subpoenas from Congress.
WHAT’S NEXT. It won’t surprise me to see the House vote on the Hunter Biden contempt resolution as soon as next week. Then it would be sent to the Justice Department - which could spur even more political brawling.
PINS. While the Freedom Caucus was halting work on the House floor on Wednesday, there was a big line of lawmakers in the Speaker's Lobby, as new security pins were handed out to members. Usually, that only happens at the start of a new Congress - not halfway through.
CHANGE. Why the change? It was explained to me that a much higher than normal number of pins had been handed out so far this Congress. There were concerns that maybe too many were out - so, a new one was designed and issued.
LOCATION. While most men don't mind jabbing another hole in their jacket to hold the pin, women members aren't too keen on that. Some wear the pin like a necklace. Others use magnets to keep it on their jacket or blouse.
USE. What are the pins for? It helps police - who may not know all 435 House members automatically - more readily identify a member of Congress walking up to the House chamber.
BOEBERT. Police in Colorado will not charge Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) with a crime after a public altercation with her ex-husband at a restaurant. Boebert denied that she had punched him in the face. Police said there was no evidence from security tapes or witnesses to support any charges.
RAP SHEET. A Missouri man has been sentenced to five years probation and six months of home confinement for his actions on Jan. 6. Jerod Bargar was found guilty of bringing a 9mm semi-automatic pistol to the Capitol. Police outside found it on the ground amongst the rioters - and ultimately traced it to Bargar.
VEGAS. A Nevada man has been arrested and charged with assaulting police on Jan. 6. Outside the Capitol, Mario Gonzalez grabbed a fire extinguisher and used that to spray police lines. He ran when police hit him with pepper spray.
MUSE OF HISTORY. January 11, 1872. A House panel on this date reported out a bill which called for the widening of a ship canal connecting the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan - for military purposes. The goal had been discussed for years - especially during and after the Civil War - to build a large enough canal 'for the passage of armed and naval vessels.' It took until 1893 for the project to finally come to fruition.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House meets at 10 am.
The Senate convenes at 10 am.
Check President Biden’s schedule.
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If you want to say ‘thanks’ - you can buy me a cup of coffee.
Jamie, how many of your readers will get the Alfred E Newman reference? Another priceless surprise and why you have a second career waiting in dry comedy.
On Tuesday, MTG said “I’m kind of sick of the chaos. I came here to be serious about solving problems, not to produce clickbait". And then what did she do on Wednesday at the Hunter Biden hearing? Create chaos and produce clickbait.