McCarthy loses skirmish with Freedom Caucus
$826 billion defense spending bill on hold
Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for September 20, 2023:
AG Garland in the House hot seat today.
Still no GOP agreement to avoid a shutdown.
Ray Epps is finally charged in the Jan. 6 probe.
SPENDING. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing defeat on the House floor, as five Freedom Caucus members blocked debate on a Pentagon funding bill. The House GOP rebellion on spending - and in some quarters against McCarthy himself - raised fresh questions about whether the House GOP can pass anything to avoid a government shutdown.
MAJORITY. The 214-212 rejection of a plan to start debate on military funding was a rare procedural defeat for a Speaker - and a fresh reminder that almost any group of five Republicans can derail McCarthy’s legislative plans at any time.
FAB FIVE. The five Republicans rebels were Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT), Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), and Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC). They have all called for lower overall spending levels.
QUOTE. "Now's the time to right the ship," said Norman, who wants $120 billion more in spending cuts than what McCarthy supports. “We can't continue to spend at this reckless level,” argued Buck.
IRKED. Most Republicans were furious. "What we just witnessed was a conservative Republican Party frankly look and behave like the minority instead of the majority," said Rep. Mike Garcia R-CA. "They should be held accountable for it," said Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI).
MCCARTHY. You don't have to be a Congressional expert to understand that Speaker McCarthy doesn't really have operational control over the House right now. It’s the third time since June that GOP rebels had delayed work on the House floor - and right now McCarthy seems powerless to overcome that.
WHAT'S NEXT. Just like his extended election for Speaker, McCarthy still has time to turn things around. "There are some members that have differences of opinion," McCarthy told reporters. "We'll just continue to work through it and find common ground."
SPENDING. But Republicans have been stuck in neutral for a while. The House has not voted on a government funding bill since July 27. There’s still no deal on a temporary funding bill. And all the while, the clock keeps ticking towards a shutdown on October 1.
SCHEDULE. No spending bills are on the House floor schedule today. "Members are advised that further votes are expected in the House this week and possibly into the weekend."
MCCONNELL. While House Republicans were fighting with each other, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell was again warning against a government shutdown on October 1. "They've always been a loser for Republicans politically," McConnell said - speaking the absolute truth about 1995-96, 2013, and 2018-19.
SENATE. Today the Senate will take a procedural vote to try to get working again on a three-bill 'minibus' funding measure which was blocked by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI). While Johnson is demanding votes on spending bills - he's also blocking the Senate from taking those votes.
STOPGAP. Time is already growing short for the Senate to act on a temporary funding plan. If the House can’t get anything, Senators will have to take the lead to avoid a shutdown, okay extra disaster relief, and approve additional aid for Ukraine. That's why a government shutdown is not hard to imagine.
BUDGET PLAN. The House Budget Committee meets today to debate and vote on a GOP budget outline for 2024, which envisions a balanced budget in 10 years. "Republicans have to make the tough calls that will stop our country from going bankrupt," said Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX), who chairs the Budget panel.
NOTES. Normally, this kind of budget work is done back in March and April - but Republicans never put forward their ‘budget resolution.’ Now in the midst of their internal fight over spending, the GOP brings forward this non-binding plan.
TIMING. If I sound skeptical about the timing, it’s because I am a bit skeptical about a budget resolution markup in September. But better late than never.
CHECKING THE TRAPS. I like to walk around the Capitol to 'check the traps' - mainly just to see if anything is happening in the hallways. I guess I need to check the bathrooms, too. Why? That story comes from one of my colleagues, Matt Laslo.
BATHROOM. After a pit stop, Laslo saw something on a baby changing table in a men's room on the first floor. It was a printed copy of a House resolution. "Declaring the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant." The sponsor is Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
POPCORN. The most likely hearing today on Capitol Hill to produce fireworks is in the House Judiciary Committee, where Attorney General Merrick Garland will testify. It will probably get a bit messy, as Republicans blame Garland for a pair of investigations into Donald Trump and much more.
SPECIAL COUNSEL. Some Republicans have called for Garland to be pushed out by Congress. "It's long past time to impeach him for weaponizing our Justice Department against conservatives," said Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ).
HUNTER. Also look for GOP lawmakers to zero in on Garland on how the Justice Department handled the Hunter Biden investigation. "All indications point to political bias being alive and well," said Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI).
JANUARY 6. A U.S. House hearing with the man who led the Capitol Police on Jan. 6 produced some interesting tidbits - and one real head-scratching moment - as ex-Chief Steven Sund again faulted lapses in intelligence warnings from the FBI and other federal agencies about the violent threats posed to the Capitol that day.
PENTAGON. Sund also blasted the Pentagon for repeatedly slow-walking help from the D.C. National Guard for the Capitol on Jan. 6. "While the Pentagon was sending resources to protect generals' homes, they sent nobody to help my men and women," Sund said.
BABBITT. Maybe the oddest moment of the hearing came about something that Sund did not want to talk about. The former chief was asked about threats being made to one of his former officers - Michael Byrd - who shot and killed rioter Ashli Babbitt just off the House floor.
MOTHER. Babbitt's mother - who has become a regular presence at the federal courthouse and on Capitol Hill - has said that officer Michael Byrd 'needs to swing from the end of a rope.' "Do you have any reaction to that comment?" Sund was asked by Rep. Joe Morelle (D-NY). "No comment on that," Sund said.
DRESS CODE. 46 Senators led by Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) signed a letter last night to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, asking him to stick with a strict dress code for the U.S. Senate. "Allowing casual clothing on the Senate floor disrespects the institution," the Senators wrote. "The Senate is a place of honor and tradition."
SIGNATURES. I had to chuckle as I read through some of the names on the letter, like Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who likes to show up for Monday votes without a jacket or tie. And Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who also routinely opts against a jacket and tie on Mondays.
VOTE. How do you vote when you aren't dressed properly? You walk into your party's cloakroom, and they throw open the door onto the floor - you wait until your name is called, and you answer from there. That's how Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) gets away with wearing shorts.
FETTERMAN. I know there has been a lot of talk about what Fetterman wears each day on Capitol Hill. There hasn't been much discussion about the recent improvements in his speech. If you didn't know about his stroke in 2022 - you wouldn't think that he had any major health issues.
SPEECH. As recently as a few months ago, reporters did not even try to ask Fetterman questions - because he was having trouble speaking, hearing and processing words. But in recent weeks, he has been fully available for Q&A.
NOTE. If you know my own story about not being able to speak properly, I have been very attuned to how Fetterman is operating. We have seen multiple videos of him in recent weeks, so he is obviously doing better - and that's welcome news, no matter your politics.
BODY DOUBLE. Of course, there are some people on the internet who don't believe what we have seen from Fetterman. That's why there's talk that Democrats have a body double for him. I'm not kidding.
UP THE RIVER. Former Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN) was sentenced yesterday to 22 months in prison after being convicted on insider trading charges. Buyer was also ordered to forfeit $354,000 in money that he made from his illegal stock transactions, which involved the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint.
TRIVIA. Buyer was one of the Congressional prosecutors in Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial. And yes, Buyer used the stock account of his own mistress to buy extra stock related to his insider trades.
RAY EPPS. For over two years, Republicans have tried to make one January 6 rioter into a central figure in the violence of that day, claiming that Ray Epps was working with the feds to whip up the crowd and start attacks on the Capitol. They readily pointed to the fact that Epps was never charged with any crimes. That changed on Tuesday.
INFORMATION. Epps will appear today in court for a combination of an arraignment and a plea bargain hearing - where he could plead guilty to one misdemeanor count of Disorderly or Disruptive Conduct on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol.
FOX NEWS. Epps has sued Fox News, claiming the news channel promoted the conspiracy theory that he was a government agent on Jan. 6. His actions have also been on the minds of GOP lawmakers in Congress. "Is the FBI protecting Ray Epps?" Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) said in July.
PLEA BARGAIN. The fact that Epps is poised to plead guilty to a single misdemeanor charge makes me wonder if he has been cooperating all along with the investigation into the Jan. 6 attack. We'll see if we find out any more details in today's court hearing or from the docket.
RAP SHEET. A Maryland man has been arrested and charged with two felonies for his assaults on police officers on Jan. 6. Steven Cook helped break police lines outside the Capitol, at one point grabbing an officer's baton and punching another officer. Cook also joined in the fight in the Lower West Terrace Tunnel.
VOLUNTEER. A Tennessee man has been arrested and charged with crimes for his actions on Jan. 6. Allan Jennings helped break the glass doors into the Lower West Terrace Tunnel, where rioters struggled with police for over two hours.
REGULAR ORDER. I had a big smile on my face as I watched the House on Tuesday. During an extended arm-twisting effort by Republicans on the defense bill, lawmakers sat and waited for the vote to be gaveled to a close. That’s when dozens of Democrats started yelling repeatedly, “Regular Order!”
CHANT. After they got bored with that, Democrats switched to, “When I say ‘regular,’ you say ‘order.’ Regular! Order!” Thanks for the publicity.
MUSE OF HISTORY. September 20, 1814. A day after convening following the burning of the Capitol by British troops, members of the House received an official explanation on how much was lost in the attack. In a letter, the House clerks said they had rushed to hire a cart and four oxen to take away 'the most valuable records and papers...nine miles, to a safe and secret place in the country.' But many items were left behind and destroyed by the British.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House meets at 10 am.
The Senate convenes at 10 am.
Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree.
Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com
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Some Regular Order would be nice. Some of the stories sound like stories from when my daughter was in middle school.
I was curious where the safe and secret place was 9 miles away……. According to an account from Pleasanton (taken 34 years later), it was a vacant gristmill on the Virginia side of the Potomac. He later moved them to a cellar of an abandoned house in Leesburg.
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/rescue-of-the-papers-of-state-during-the-burning-of-washington
I guess I need a Civics refresher. How can the Senate propose a funding bill? I thought all spending/budget bills had to originate in the House. (And even if the Senate passes such a bill, why would we expect the House to do anything with it?)