Trump pushes shutdown as House defeats GOP funding plan
Not clear what's next for Republicans on funding
Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for September 19, 2024:
GOP claim of scandal fizzles at hearing.
Interest rate cut aggravates Republicans.
Lawmakers tangle over Iran hack of Trump campaign.
FUNDING. The 118th Congress has featured House Republicans feuding with each other and repeatedly failing to pass government funding bills. We saw that again on Wednesday, as the House voted 220-202-2 to defeat a GOP plan to temporarily fund the government - tied to efforts to stop illegal immigrants from registering to vote. "It's the right fight for the American people," said House Speaker Mike Johnson.
SHUTDOWN. Johnson wouldn't answer questions from reporters about what's next, as government funding runs out on September 30. Democrats said it was obvious what Republicans want. "This is a shutdown effort," declared House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. "It's in the DNA of extreme MAGA Republicans."
GOP NO. 14 Republicans broke ranks to torpedo the Speaker's funding plan: Banks IN, Biggs AZ, Boebert CO, Burchett TN, Crane AZ, Gaetz FL, Hunt TX, Lamborn CO, Mace SC, Mills FL, Rogers AL, Rosendale MT, Steube FL, and Van Duyne TX.
PRESENT. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) voted 'Present.' "I'm not part of this theater," Massie said, ridiculing Republicans and Democrats. "I refuse to participate in a lie and Johnson’s fake fight with the Senate," added Greene.
DEM YES. Three Democrats voted for the measure - probably the three most conservative Democrats in the House: Don Davis of North Carolina, Jared Golden of Maine, and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington State.
ELECTIONS. If you think voting against this GOP plan to stop illegal immigrants from voting would worry Democrats, there was absolutely no evidence of that inside the Capitol yesterday. Democrats simply called it a stunt, voted 'No,' and moved on.
TRUMP. Before yesterday's vote, former President Donald Trump called on Republicans to force a government shutdown starting on October 1, demanding that GOP lawmakers fight for the extra bill on illegal immigrants. "If Republicans don’t get the SAVE Act, and every ounce of it, they should not agree to a Continuing Resolution in any way, shape, or form," Trump said.
SHUTDOWN. "President Trump is right,” said Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX). “Republicans should not continue to fund a government that refuses to secure our elections."
SHOWDOWN. But most Republicans want no part of a shutdown, worried about getting blamed at the ballot box. "I don't think it's a good strategy to shut down the government," said Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL).
STOPGAP. Speaker Johnson wanted a 6-month funding extension - he wouldn’t say what he will try next. "We now have only a few days left for House Republicans to come to their senses," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
SENATE. It wasn't immediately clear if Schumer would try to move ahead on his own funding plan - or wait on the House to try again. (There are two weekends left in September.)
RATE CUT POLITICS. Republicans expressed outrage on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve cut their main interest rate by a half point. It signaled clearly that the Fed believes that it has won the fight against inflation, as the U.S. economy seems to have had a soft landing without any recession.
GRUMBLING. Maybe the most peculiar reaction came from House Speaker Mike Johnson. "The timing is a little suspect," said Johnson, as Republicans hinted that this was some kind of Deep State help for Harris - even though everyone has known for months that the Fed would meet this week.
MORE. But that wasn't all from the GOP. "Let's be clear," said Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY), "the Fed is not finished fighting inflation." When a reporter asked about the cut at an event in North Carolina with Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), supporters of Donald Trump booed.
THRILLED. Meanwhile, Democrats were pleased as punch. "Today’s Fed decision is a win for working people, small businesses, homeowners, and our entire economy," said Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM). "Lower rates mean relief for consumers," added Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
ECONOMY. With that rate cut, I think it's pretty safe to say that the economy is not going to collapse before Election Day. The hangover from inflation is still real for many Americans and will certainly hurt Democrats - but things aren't getting worse right now. And you can see that in the polls.
SURVEY SAYS. In swing state polls released yesterday by Quinnipiac University, Harris trails Trump on handling of the economy by just 2-4 points in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
IMMIGRATION. You would think that illegal immigration would be a gigantic advantage for Donald Trump. But in those three states, Trump only has an edge of between 1-7 points.
BLUF. "Likely voters now see little daylight, in most cases, between Harris and Trump on who can best handle those key issues," said Quinnipiac polling analyst Tim Malloy.
VOTER REGISTRATION. House Republicans have expressed outrage in recent weeks about various federal agencies helping to register voters. The GOP accusation is that the feds are registering only Democrats. Republicans made it the focus of an oversight hearing on Wednesday with the head of the Small Business Administration. Let’s just say that didn't go well for the GOP.
GUZMAN. Republicans accused SBA chief Isabella Guzman of setting up events to register people to vote. She said the SBA has never done that. The GOP said the SBA gives out voter registration cards at meetings. Guzman said the SBA does not.
LINK. What has the SBA done in terms of voter registration? They have an internet link on their website, which takes people to Vote.gov - which then funnels people to their home state if they need to register.
ZIP. NADA. That link has been operational for 6 weeks. How many people have registered to vote after clicking on that SBA link? (Drumroll, please.) "There have been zero registrations," Guzman said.
REFRAIN. Republicans didn’t believe her. “How many Republicans versus how many Democrats have you guys registered?” asked an aggravated Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ). The answer was the same - zero. It wasn’t exactly what the GOP had claimed was going on.
IRAN-TRUMP. U.S. Intelligence put out a statement on Wednesday saying 'malicious cyber actors' from Iran had hacked materials from Trump's campaign - and sent it to people associated with President Biden's campaign. That drew howls of outrage from Team Trump and set off some interesting statements from key lawmakers in Congress.
STATEMENT. "This is further proof the Iranians are actively interfering in the election to help Kamala Harris and Joe Biden," said Trump Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. "Kamala and Biden must come clean on whether they used the hacked material given to them by the Iranians to hurt President Trump."
MIAMI VALLEY. The GOP chair of the House Intelligence Committee wasted no time echoing the Trump campaign. "Iran sent President Biden and Vice President Harris information by hacking the Trump campaign," said Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH). "What did they do with Iran’s espionage? Did they contact law enforcement? Is the Biden-Harris Administration colluding with Iran?”
NUTMEG. The top Democrat on that panel pushed back. "There is no evidence that anyone affiliated with the Biden campaign responded to the online actor who dangled illegally obtained emails," said Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT). "It’s worth recalling that Donald Trump famously asked Russia to hack his opponent.”
SECRET SERVICE. The House is expected to vote on a bill today which would require the Secret Service to devote as many personnel to protecting Donald Trump as Kamala Harris. The plan is being pushed by GOP leaders in the wake of Sunday's incident at Trump's golf course in Florida, where agents saw a man with a gun lying in wait for Trump.
RESOURCES. But when you talk to key lawmakers about this situation, they say the Secret Service is already doing this - that President Biden ordered the stepped up security after the July 13 attack at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania.
BIG TECH. The Senate Intelligence Committee held an interesting hearing on Wednesday with the heads of three Big Tech companies - Google, Meta (Facebook), and Microsoft - to discuss what they're seeing in terms of cyber challenges to our elections from overseas. It produced some interesting observations about what's happening in the cyber arena and on social media.
MICROSOFT. "We know that there's a presidential race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris," said Brad Smith of Microsoft. "But this has also become an election of Iran versus Trump and Russia versus Harris, and it is an election where Russia, Iran and China are united with a common interest in discrediting democracy."
AI VS AI. Smith said Artificial Intelligence is actually helping to detect AI fakes which could impact the election. "Just this morning, we saw a Russian group put online an AI enhanced video, putting into Vice President Harris's words - at a rally - words she never spoke." Think about that for a minute.
ELECTORAL VOTES. Nebraska's all-Republican Congressional delegation is calling on state lawmakers to again make the Cornhusker State winner-take-all for electoral votes. "We need a President that will represent all of us, from Omaha to Scottsbluff and everywhere in between," the GOP lawmakers said in a letter to Gov. Jim Pillen.
DISTRICT. Nebraska and Maine are the only two states which award electoral votes to the candidate who wins the statewide vote, plus one per Congressional district. Democrats picked off one of those votes in both 2008 and 2020 - and Republicans fear that could happen again in November.
CHANGE. Earlier this week, Gov. Pillen said he would call a special session of the Nebraska legislature - but only if there are enough votes to approve the change. Officials in Maine have hinted that if Nebraska makes a change - Maine will also move back to winner-take-all.
GRAHAM. Who was in Lincoln on Wednesday lobbying members of Nebraska's unicameral legislature? Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). He missed a work day back on Capitol Hill to press Nebraska lawmakers to make the change.
GARDEN STATE. Voters last night elected LaMonica McIver (D) to replace the late Rep. Donald Payne Jr. in Congress from New Jersey. McIver heads the city council in Newark, which anchors this district. Once McIver is sworn in, the House will be 220 Republicans to 212 Democrats, with three vacant seats.
FIRST NAIL. Construction is already underway on the West Front of the Capitol to build the Inaugural Platform to swear in the next President on Jan. 20, 2025. Congressional leaders got to drive the ceremonial ‘first nail’ on Wednesday.
PLATFORM. This same area where the ceremony was held was also where hundreds of rioters swarmed past police and to the Capitol building on Jan. 6. Hopefully, this next Jan. 6 will not have a repeat.
RAP SHEET. An Oregon man has pleaded guilty to charges of assaulting police on Jan. 6. Wearing a military-style helmet and gas mask, Andy Oliva-Lopez repeatedly hit officers with an orange-colored chemical spray on the West Plaza. Oliva-Lopez joined other rioters in moving past police lines, along the scaffolding of the inaugural platform, and up towards the Capitol itself.
MUSE OF HISTORY. September 19, 1789. The First Congress was still busy on this date creating various arms of the new government on this date. Lawmakers were ready to send President Washington a bill for the 'temporary establishment of the Post Office,' the House was debating a bill setting salaries for the Judicial Branch, and lawmakers gave final approval to a plan to collect duties on imported goods.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House meets at 10 am.
The Senate convenes at 10 am.
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My main take aways from today’s newsletter: 1. The House GOP thinks it would be advantageous to shut down the government a month before the election. 2. The GOP is “outraged” that the Fed cut interest rates and that agencies are registering people to vote.
We have a political party in this country actively working against the American people.
When one party is outraged because American citizens are being assisted in voter registration, because they are actually registering, they know they have failed.
But the power of a violent corrupt minority willing to do anything to win can’t be overestimated… this is gonna get very very bad.