House rebels defeat GOP funding plan
Republican infighting may trigger shutdown tonight
Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for September 30, 2023:
Congress honors the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
Both the House and Senate will be at work on this Saturday.
Another Jan. 6 defendant goes on the lam.
SHUTDOWN. Republicans on Capitol Hill are heading for a shutdown following another embarrassing defeat for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, as a group of GOP rebels on Friday helped defeat a temporary government funding bill. The 232-198 vote against McCarthy all but guaranteed that a shutdown would begin at midnight - unless today brings some kind of legislative miracle.
REBELS. The vote surprised many GOP lawmakers, as 21 Republicans deserted McCarthy - and then gloated about it. "The Speaker's continuing resolution went down in flames, as I told you all week," Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) proclaimed - as McCarthy again lost control of the House floor and his GOP conference.
IRKED. McCarthy allies were furious that so many members of their own party had defeated a plan which combined budget cuts with border security legislation. "Go talk to the idiots who wouldn't support 30 percent cuts and (a bill) that would secure the border," fumed Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) as he stormed out of the Capitol.
BLACKJACK. Who went against the Speaker? Here is the list of the 21 Republicans who voted against the GOP temporary funding measure to avoid a shutdown:
CLOSED DOORS. Things didn’t get any better in a House GOP meeting on Friday evening, as Republicans emerged to say they weren’t giving up - but no one was quite sure what the House might vote on during a Saturday session. “We need to send something to the Senate,” said Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR).
CLEAN. Some Republicans - including McCarthy - said the best option was a funding extension of 4-6 weeks - which might get bipartisan support. “You’re going to have to have Democrats on board,” said Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) - though that’s been a solution which has led to threats against McCarthy’s job security.
VIBE. Most Republicans simply said there was no reason to have a shutdown. “Blowing up things doesn’t do anybody a damn bit of good,” said Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC). “Shutting down the government will serve no purpose whatsoever,” added Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY).
SENATE. Facing a midnight funding deadline, the Senate is expected to vote around 1 pm on whether to advance a bipartisan temporary funding bill. But there were again rumblings on Friday that GOP demands about border security and immigration could derail that agreement.
SCHUMER. “We now stand at the precipice of an unnecessary, reckless, and entirely Republican-manufactured shutdown,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Without an agreement, it would take until Tuesday to get a Senate vote on a short-term funding deal.
VIBE CHECK. There were two notable moments in the Capitol yesterday. The first was as Republicans came out of their closed-door meeting - as it was immediately clear that the GOP plan for Saturday was still being hashed out. Something was going to be voted on to keep the government open, but no one knew the exact details.
CR VOTE. The other snapshot was as the House was defeating the GOP stopgap funding plan. There were no cheers as the final vote tally was announced. Instead, there was almost a sense of, "Are you freaking kidding me?" It sort of felt like House Republicans were just sort of rolling the dice.
SPENDING BILLS. So, what do the Republicans want who voted against their own party? For some, it’s about process. They want the House to vote on all twelve individual government funding bills *before* there is any talk about a stopgap spending plan. (Those bills are supposed to be finished by September 30 - today. But that hasn't happened since 1996.)
OMNIBUS. "I will not be part of the process to kick government funding down the road until the holidays," said Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL). "Single subject spending bills put America First," said Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ). "It's time to bring up the remaining bills," said Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT).
BILLS. So far, the House has passed 4 of 12 funding bills; the Senate has not passed a single one, which House Republicans like to point out. But what GOP lawmakers don't like to mention is that Senate Republicans have been blocking action on those bills.
SCHEDULE. House leaders said last night that they were canceling a scheduled two-week break in October, as lawmakers will instead use those work days to plow through other funding bills.
FEINSTEIN. Members of both parties paid tribute Friday to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), who died at home on Thursday night. She was 90. Feinstein's final vote was a few hours earlier, as she walked into the Senate chamber to help advance a bipartisan temporary funding plan. "Dianne Feinstein was a pioneering American," said President Biden, who served with her in the Senate.
SENATE. I was covering Capitol Hill for a radio station in Los Angeles when Feinstein won her seat in 1992. She was just one of four women in the Senate - two were from California, as Feinstein served with Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA). (The others were Patty Murray, the current President Pro Tem, and Barbara Mikulski of Maryland.)
ASSAULT WEAPONS. Feinstein left her legislative mark on Capitol Hill almost immediately. In her first year in the Senate, Feinstein helped push the Senate to approve a ban on the sale, possession, and manufacture of certain semi-automatic assault rifles. Congress ultimately approved a 10-year ban, which President Biden still touts to this day.
FINAL TERM. Unfortunately, the end of Feinstein's career and life was marked by a very public controversy over her mental acuity and her health. It was capped by an extraordinarily awkward moment where reporters asked Feinstein about her retirement - and she didn't seem to know that news had been released.
GOLDEN STATE. Feinstein can be immediately replaced by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Most expect him to pick someone who will be a ‘caretaker’ for the seat - and not one of the candidates running for Senate in 2024. (I do not expect any problem with that new Senator getting committee assignments.)
YELLOWHAMMER. It looks like the court decisions which will create a second black-majority district in Alabama could force two GOP incumbents into a primary fight. Rep. Jerry Carl (R-AL) has already said he'll run for reelection, and it could be he will have to take on Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL). "We'll make a decision once we get a map," Moore said this week.
DISTRICT LINES. In an interview with an Alabama radio station, Moore blasted the Supreme Court's refusal to let Alabama use a new map drawn by the GOP-led state legislature. "To me, it seems like they’ve almost taken race and made it the primary issue," Moore said.
VOTING RIGHTS. Alabama Republicans say they don't want to be treated like it's 1963. But 60 years later, they are doing everything possible to defy the U.S. Supreme Court in a bid to nullify the Voting Rights Act. More in my Saturday column for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
RAP SHEET. A day after the feds caught up with a Florida man who skipped his Jan. 6 sentencing, a New York man is now on the lam. Frank Giustino was convicted of interfering with police outside the Capitol. Giustino is yet another rioter who has claimed that he is a sovereign citizen, and that courts have no power over him.
MUSE OF HISTORY. September 30, 1972. In an unusual Saturday session, the Senate voted 29-25 on this date to allow workers to take Social Security early - with reduced benefits - at age 60. The plan from Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) also let widows take benefits as early as age 55. "These are people who have been paying into the program for a long time," Byrd argued. 46 Senators missed the vote.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House meets at 10 am.
The Senate convenes at 12 noon.
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Thank you for the yellowhammer section. It's been very helpful how you have documented the progress in this case. Your continuing attention to it has helped me track it much more easily.
I had somehow forgotten that it was Feinstein who had discovered Harvey Milk dead on the floor of his SF City Hall office from gunshot wounds. When she felt for a pulse, her finger slipped into a bullet hole. Man, talk about a moment that shapes the rest of your life. Too bad she was unable to get her transformative assault weapons ban legislation reinstated after Sandy Hook. By then, too many Senators were lining their pockets with fat NRA checks and using the 2A as a way to get gun-crazy constituents to the polls.