Trump allies set out plan for unilateral budget cuts

Ethics panel refuses to release Gaetz report

Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for November 21, 2024:

• Bathroom wars have arrived on Capitol Hill.

• Two senior Democrats face leadership challenges.

• Democrats lose a House seat in Alaska.

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SPENDING. Now we know how President-elect Donald Trump hopes to massively cut government spending. The Trump plan relies on the federal courts to strike down a 1974 budget law which says a President cannot refuse to spend money approved by Congress. Trump allies Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy laid out that case in an op-ed on Wednesday in the Wall Street Journal.

• WSJ. Pointing to the 1974 Impoundment Control Act - which was passed to prevent President Nixon from ignoring the will of Congress on spending matters - Musk and Ramaswamy said Trump considers that law unconstitutional. "We believe the current Supreme Court would likely side with him," they wrote.

• SCOTUS. How would it work? If Congress passes a spending bill which funds the Department of Education, Trump could say - I'm not going to spend that money, and just start firing people by the hundreds. Or it could be $50 million to build a new road in Georgia. Trump could say he won’t spend that money.

• EXECUTIVE. This squares with what I thought was coming from Trump. Basically, this is a giant power grab. He argues that as President - he runs the Executive Branch - so Trump has the power to spend or not spend money, no matter what the Congress approves, and gets signed into law.

• DOGE. Musk and Ramaswamy have been tasked with identifying spending cuts, as part of the unofficial 'Department of Government Efficiency.' The clear message here is that they want to be able to wield the budget axe on their own - without interference from the Congress, which usually is associated with, 'The Power of the Purse.'

IMPEACHMENT. Some of you will properly note that Donald Trump was impeached the first time for violating the impoundment law - when he refused to send aid to Ukraine approved by Congress.

• FINDINGS. "Faithful execution of the law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law," the GAO found.

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GAETZ. The House Ethics Committee usually does its work out of the public eye. Not yesterday. Camera crews and reporters massed outside the panel's meeting room as lawmakers debated what to do with the sexual misconduct investigation into now ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who has been tapped by Donald Trump for the post of U.S. Attorney General.

• NO COMMENT. The leaders of the House Ethics Committee normally say nothing - and I mean, absolutely nothing - about the work of the panel. But that didn't happen yesterday. And it led to a scene which makes me worry that this last redoubt of non-partisanship is crumbling.

• NO ACTION. "There has been no agreement to release the report," said Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS), the chairman of the committee, as he left the meeting. Guest was pursued outside by reporters, as he dodged his way past parked cars. His comments left the top Democrat on the panel fuming.

• DEM. After seeing Guest’s remarks, Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA) returned. And she was not happy. "We had agreed that we were not going to discuss what had transpired," Wild said, adding that Guest had 'betrayed the process.' Wild clearly hinted that the panel had split 5-5 on the question of releasing the report.

• DECEMBER. The committee will meet again on December 5. Before then, the House might vote on whether to force the release of the report. Two House Democrats introduced separate resolutions yesterday to achieve that. A vote could occur as early as today, or wait until after Thanksgiving.

• MACHIAVELLI. Here's my thought on a power move that someone could make with respect to Gaetz. Republicans could leak the report about the Gaetz investigation - but then publicly blame Democrats for doing it!

MEETINGS. As for Gaetz, he returned to Capitol Hill yesterday along with Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), for meetings with GOP Senators. I get the sense that Gaetz is still fighting an uphill battle. He is not a normal nominee, and most Republicans understand that. But can they resist the pressure of Trump? Let's wait and see.

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JUDGES. For a second time this week, the Senate was voting until after midnight last night, as Democrats pressed ahead on more judicial nominees from President Biden. Three more votes will take place today before Senators head home for a Thanksgiving break.

• GOP. A day after Donald Trump demanded that all Republicans get back to the Senate to help defeat judges nominated by President Biden - a pair of Biden judges were confirmed only because two GOP Senators were absent and missed the votes (Braun of Indiana, and Cruz of Texas).

• NO TIES. Democrats narrowly avoided tie votes on some of those judges - and that was a good thing for them, because Vice President Kamala Harris is in Hawaii, and was not available to come to the Capitol to cast a tie-breaking vote.

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BATHROOM. The culture wars have officially come to Capitol Hill. House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday announced a new policy - obviously driven by the election of the first transgender member of Congress - which prohibits Democrat Sarah McBride from using any women's bathrooms on the House side of the Capitol complex.

• SPEAKER. "All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House Office Buildings - such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms - are reserved for individuals of that biological sex," Speaker Johnson said in a statement. "Women deserve women's only spaces."

• RESPONSE. McBride tried to steer clear of a direct argument, promising to abide by the new rules. "I’m not here to fight about bathrooms," McBride said in a written statement. "I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families."

• BACKUP. Democrats echoed those remarks, but also took shots at Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who pushed the issue. "The most dangerous place in the Capitol is between Nancy Mace and a TV camera," said Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ).

• MACED. Watching Mace tweet dozens and dozens of times in the last few days about this was a bit eye-opening, especially since she often claimed she was 'pro-LGBTQ rights and equality.' Outside the Capitol, she was mobbed by reporters.

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TIMING. It shouldn't be lost on anyone that the Speaker's announcement came on what's known as 'Trans Day of Remembrance,' which honors the victims of transgender discrimination and violence.

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REMOTE. While the Speaker protects women's bathrooms on Capitol Hill, he has registered his opposition to a plan to help new mothers who serve in Congress. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) said yesterday that Speaker Johnson opposes her plan to let new mothers vote remotely - by proxy - for six weeks after they give birth.

• PROXY. But Luna said that Speaker Johnson opposes the plan. "I was told, he will not support allowing female members to vote if they give birth," Luna tweeted. "Among other things, this is something that I fundamentally disagree with him on."

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ELECTIONS. The number of undecided House races continues to shrink, but we are no closer to knowing the final margins for the 119th Congress. Two more races were called on Wednesday, as Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) lost in Alaska, and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) won a narrow victory in Ohio.

• ALASKA. The loss by Peltola was one of the more difficult setbacks for Democrats. She was a moderate candidate who had great success for the party - but the surge of Donald Trump was too much for Peltola to overcome, even though she ran almost 13,000 votes ahead of Kamala Harris.

• TRIO. Just three House seats remain uncalled. Barring some major tabulation error, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) will win in Iowa - she leads by 801 votes. That leaves us with two races in California, which right now are the closest of any House races in 2024.

  • GOP 219 wins + 2 leads minus Gaetz = 220 seats

  • Dem 213 wins + 1 lead = 214 seats

• In CA-13, Rep. John Duarte R-CA leads by 351 votes.

• In CA-45, Rep. Michelle Steel R-CA trails by 397 votes.

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HOUSE DEMS. Two House Democrats announced on Wednesday that they would challenge more senior members for their party's top spots on two different committees. Both involve older Democrats who have had health problems, which is always a tricky situation on Capitol Hill.

• HUFFMAN. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) is challenging Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) for the top slot on the House Natural Resources Committee. The 76-year-old Grijalva - who has missed most of the year because of cancer treatments - has already said he won't run for another term in 2026.

• SCOTT. Meanwhile, Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA) will challenge Rep. David Scott (D-GA) for the post of ranking member on the House Agriculture Committee. Scott's health and mental acuity has been a concern for several years. The 79-year-old Georgia Democrat is currently in a rehab facility for a back problem.

• BOOK. I've often said that it wouldn't be hard to write a book about Capitol Hill titled, "One Term Too Many." I've seen way too many older lawmakers stay in their job too long.

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UKRAINE. The Senate last night voted 61-37 against an effort to block the Biden Administration from forgiving $4.65 billion in loans to Ukraine. "Sadly, the Ukraine 1st, America Last Caucus defeated my resolution," tweeted Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who led the effort to block the President's plan.

• KYIV. The Senate vote came hours after the White House announced yet another aid package for Ukraine. The $275 million package includes drones, ammunition for HIMARS and artillery, and mines.

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DECORUM. Reporters were sent a memo on Wednesday reminding them to behave properly in the Speaker's Lobby, the ornate room just off the House floor where we can speak with lawmakers. Evidently there had been some reporters running after members, and one journalist supposedly sat on a very old marble table. (Who are these morons???)

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LOTTERY. Today brings one of the greatest inside baseball events on Capitol Hill. It's the House 'Member-Elect Room Lottery Drawing.' The close to 60 new House members will get a chance to pick their office, part of a giant jigsaw puzzle which will see members moved into new offices over the next six weeks.

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RAP SHEET. An Illinois man has pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers on Jan. 6. Robert Giacchetti joined other rioters outside the Capitol in forcibly pushing back police. Inside the building, he confronted police who were trying to prevent rioters from getting into the Senate chamber. Back outside, he harassed reporters and destroyed equipment belonging to the Associated Press.

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MUSE OF HISTORY.  November 21, 1814.  On this date, President Madison signed a bill into law which authorized the Secretary of State to make sure Americans knew what Congress had been doing.  The law approved publishing - in 'two of the public newspapers within each and every territory of the United States' - all laws passed by lawmakers.  "Provided, in his opinion, it shall become necessary and expedient."

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LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House convenes at 9 am.

The Senate meets at 10 am.

Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree.

Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com

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