Vance joins Trump to back threat of government shutdown

House GOP still has no temporary funding plan

Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for September 13, 2024:

• Trump rules out another debate with Harris.

• Senate Democrats to force IVF next week.

• Two arrested in Jan. 6 photographer attack.

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HOUSE GOP. It was not a good week for Speaker Mike Johnson. And it might get worse. Johnson this week couldn’t get House Republicans to approve a temporary government funding plan, which he wanted to pair with a GOP bill on voter registration checks. And now the Speaker is facing even more pressure, as Congress must act by September 30 in order to avoid a government shutdown.

• VANCE. In an interview, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) said Republicans should use the shutdown threat to force Democrats in Congress to accept the 'SAVE Act,' in order to make sure illegal immigrants can't register to vote. "Why shouldn't we be trying to force this government shutdown fight to get something out of it that's good for the American people?" Vance said.

• TRUMP. Earlier this week, Trump also said he would favor a shutdown as a way to force Democrats to accept the GOP bill which requires more citizenship checks for voter registration. 'CLOSE IT DOWN!!!' Trump wrote on his Truth Social website.

• SHUTDOWN. As lawmakers left town yesterday, GOP members had no idea what the Speaker would try next. "I think any shutdown would be idiotic," said Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), a swing seat Republican on Long Island. And yet - that's what they're hearing from both Trump and Vance.

• BELLA LUNA. Meanwhile, GOP hard liners showed no signs of giving in. “I think that it’s a mistake to not do the CR with the SAVE Act,” said Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL). “The SAVE Act has got to be in there - that shouldn’t even be a question,” added Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC).

• VOTES. But here's the deal. Republicans don't have the votes to pass the CR-plus-SAVE Act in the House. It's pretty hard to force the other party to accept something - when your own party can't muster a majority.

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NOVEMBER. Call me nuts, but the idea of Congressional Republicans lighting themselves on fire and forcing a government shutdown weeks before Election Day seems so outrageous - that you probably shouldn't rule it out. "The idea that they would force a shutdown is crazy," said Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH). "But this is what Trump does."

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DEBATE. Two days after a lackluster debate performance, Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he will not debate Vice President Kamala Harris again in this campaign. "There will be no third debate," Trump said at an Arizona rally after posting that on his Truth Social website. Harris quickly called his bluff. "We owe it to the voters to have another debate," she countered.

• BLAME THE MEDIA. Never at fault for anything that goes wrong, Trump blamed ABC for his bad debate, as his supporters made wild claims that ABC had given the debate questions to Harris. "Stupid ABC that did this horrible debate. Those two people should be fired as an anchor," said Trump.

• POSTGAME. Democrats clearly feel like Harris did a solid job against Trump, as they skewered him for being a chicken. "The more I watch these debate clips, the more scared I realize Trump was," said Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA). "He’s weak, weird and washed up," said Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA).

• AWKWARD. "You want to know who won?" Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) tweeted out after the Tuesday night debate. "Find out who refuses to do a 2nd debate." That post didn't really turn out the way that the Georgia Republican might have thought.

CATS AND DOGS. On the subject of this week's debate, I still can't believe that Trump decided to voice the bogus claim of immigrants stealing pets and eating them, which came out of Springfield, Ohio. It has unleashed a wave of very creative memes and videos, which confirms the impact that it had. And it’s not a good one for Trump.

• SPRINGFIELD. Trump of course didn't stop talking about that issue. In Tucson, Arizona on Thursday, Trump again said Haitian immigrants are ruining Springfield, Ohio. "Residents are reporting that the migrants are walking off with the town's geese," Trump said, "and even walking off with their pets."

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IVF. Donald Trump says he's for IVF - he's even called for the government and/or health insurers to pay for such treatments. Many GOP lawmakers say they're for IVF. But Republicans keep voting against it in Congress. So, next week, Senate Democrats will put GOP Senators on the record again - just to remind voters where everyone stands on the issue.

• SCHUMER. "The American people will be watching," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor. "Republicans can’t claim to be pro-family on one hand only to block pro-family policies like federal protections for IVF," Schumer added. "But that’s just what they did this summer."

• BILL. The measure from Democrats would basically override any state laws blocking access to fertility treatments like IVF. You can read the bill at this link. Back in June, only two GOP Senators broke ranks - while 47 other Republicans voted to filibuster. I would be very surprised to see those numbers change.

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SENATE. Schumer's plan for another IVF messaging vote was not a surprise, since no one expected the Senate to be doing any real legislative work before Election Day. The main activity on the Senate floor this week was confirming more federal judges nominated by President Biden.

• DEFENSE. The Senate's top Republican expressed his frustration with that schedule on Thursday. "After a week back in Washington, Congress is no closer to delivering full-year topline defense funding than we were on August 1st," said Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, who also noted the lack of action on a major defense policy bill.

• AMENDMENTS. I get the complaints from McConnell and other Republicans - but let's be real. If Democrats put the defense bill on the Senate floor, GOP Senators would do their best to force some kind of embarrassing/political votes (and Democrats would do the same if they were in the minority).

• MARKING TIME. So, nothing will get done until after the elections. That means from late July until mid-November is just wasted time on Capitol Hill. It’s unfortunate. But it’s become Standard Operating Procedure in election years.

THE OLD DAYS. I’ve been around Capitol Hill long enough to remember when Congress used to routinely finish its work - and adjourn for the year in October of an election year.

• 1984 - October 12

• 1986 - October 18

• 1988 - October 22

• 1990 - October 28

• 1992 - October 9

• 1996 - October 4 (the last time it happened)

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FAVORABLES. Instead of looking at topline poll numbers, I’ve been looking at the favorable/unfavorable numbers for the major party tickets. These new numbers from a Marquette University Law School poll in Wisconsin are emblematic of where things stand right now. The full poll is at this link.

• Kamala Harris 47/51 -4%

• Tim Walz 44/38 +6%

• Donald Trump 43/56 -13%

• J.D. Vance 37/48 -11%

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ALBERTO. Another top name from the Bush era has endorsed Kamala Harris - former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. "Power is intoxicating and based on Trump’s rhetoric and conduct it appears unlikely that he would respect the power of the presidency," Gonzales wrote in an op-ed in Politico.

• GONZALES. Along with former Vice President Dick Cheney, Gonzales was a hated figure in the George W. Bush Administration. And frankly, to see them on board with Kamala Harris - and against Donald Trump - causes me a great deal of cognitive dissonance. But that's where things are in 2024.

• ROVE. In the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, GOP strategist Karl Rove weighed in with a blistering review of Trump's debate performance this week. "Mr. Trump was crushed by a woman he previously dismissed as ‘dumb as a rock,’” Rove wrote. "What does that make him?"

REAGAN. I've been thinking of writing this column for a while. Ronald Reagan famously said of his switch to the GOP, “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party. It left me.” But in 2024, it's pretty clear that the Republican Party under Donald Trump has left Ronald Reagan behind. More in my column for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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SECRET SERVICE. After briefings from the Secret Service, lawmakers in both parties said Thursday that the probe of the rally attack against Donald Trump on July 13 will produce some startling answers. "I think the American people are going to be shocked, astonished and appalled," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).

• QUESTIONS. GOP lawmakers echoed that assessment. "There are more questions than answers at this point," said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI). "I think it's going to identify very specific errors that were made in this," added Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY).

• REPORT. Senators seem ready to issue a review of the rally attack as early as next week. A separate House probe isn't expected to make a report until December. House members met yesterday as well with the acting head of the Secret Service.

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TED BARRETT. Last night, my great friend Ted Barrett of CNN was awarded the Radio-TV Correspondents' Association Career Achievement Award for Distinguished Reporting. Ted and I have sat across from each other for over two decades - and I'm thrilled for him. Ted isn’t usually on air - but he is a key player for CNN as a producer on Capitol Hill. Here he is with Craig Caplan of C-SPAN.

(I promise that I won’t trash talk Ted by reminding him that I won that award in 2018.)

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RAP SHEET. The feds have finally arrested two brothers who attacked a female New York Times photographer on Jan. 6, just down the hall from where I work inside the Capitol. Philip and David Walker became enraged when she took their picture on a crowded staircase, threw her to the ground, and took her equipment.

• DELAY. It's not clear why the feds waited so long to charge the men. One brother was interviewed by the FBI eight days after the Jan. 6 attack, where he admitted throwing the woman's camera into a 'body of water.' Philip Walker claimed he thought the photographer was a member of Antifa.

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MUSE OF HISTORY.  September 13, 1962.  A month before the Cuban Missile Crisis, Senators were nervously eyeing Soviet actions in Cuba.  Sen. Prescott Bush (R-CT) introduced a resolution which reserved the right of the U.S. to intervene.  "Domination and control of the Republic of Cuba by the international Communist movement jeopardizes the peace and security of the Western Hemisphere and violates the basic right of the Cuban people to independence and self-determination."

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LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House is back on Tuesday.

The Senate returns on Monday.

Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree.

Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com

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