In case you haven’t noticed, the Angry Children’s Caucus in the US House of Representatives is once again tampering with the federal budget.
When we last left the sandbox, Congress was about to face another budget deadline, with the 2025 budget beginning on October 5. Speaker Mike Johnson had scheduled a vote on a funding measure for Wednesday. But as always, Speaker Moses is the tool of the Angry Children’s Caucus. Nearly a dozen of them announced they would vote against it.
(Democrats oppose the bill because it not only includes a wish list of right-wing spending cuts, but also a provision requiring proof of citizenship to vote, even though it’s already illegal for noncitizens to vote. This was a gift thrown to the former president.* All of this means the thing is dead in the Senate, and the president has already said he would veto it if it landed on his desk.)
As always, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was the spokesperson for the Angry Children’s Caucus. The Hill:
Greene is one of several Republicans who oppose Johnson’s plan. She did not confirm that she would vote against the government funding plan, but at least six others said they would, which could potentially kill the plan. “It’s absurd that everyone stands up and says we have to vote for this, but to vote for this you have to vote for a continuation resolution that continues the Biden administration’s budget, which funds the Green New Deal, which funds all these horrible things that people are sick of,” Green said.
On Wednesday afternoon, Speaker Moses withdrew the vote. You can’t find an emptier suit anywhere. The Washington Post:
Congress must pass a new funding bill before Sept. 30 or critical agencies and services will be shut down. Johnson had tried to push through a funding bill supported only by his narrow Republican majority in the House to gain an advantage in negotiations with the Democratic-led Senate and White House. That bill would extend government funding through March 28 and add new, unrelated requirements that voters show proof of citizenship before registering to vote in federal elections.
But infighting within the Republican conference – more of the same conflicts that have been brewing there for over a year – caused Johnson’s plan to fail. Trump had urged Republicans on Tuesday to force a shutdown if they cannot enforce new registration requirements that Democrats oppose and election officials say are unnecessary… The spokesman said earlier this week that he had “no fallback” if Republicans rejected his approach.
I’m not the type to be curious, but maybe The Guide to Mar-a-Lago wasn’t the best idea you ever had.
