‘Total dumpster fire’: Republicans fuming over speaker’s spending plan just days before shutdown deadline

Members of Congress finally released a short-term government funding bill Tuesday night to avert a shutdown at the end of this week. The measure will fund the government at current spending levels until March 14, 2025. The measure also includes $100.4 billion in disaster relief and another $10 billion in economic aid for farmers.

Republican leadership could hold a vote as early as Wednesday, but it is more likely that it will take place on Thursday.

Provisions in the bill for short-term spending include:

• Reauthorization of the Department of Homeland Security’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program, which would enable coordination among all homeland security agencies to address and deter the potential threats posed by drones.
• A one-year extension of the Farm Bill.
• It extends several expiring health programs, including telehealth programs.
• It grants Washington, D.C. control of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and paves the way for the NFL commanders to move from Maryland to D.C
• A provision for the government to cover 100% of the reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, which collapsed when a container ship hit it.
• Restrictions on US investment in China.

Republicans had originally promised to release the bill over the weekend with a goal of voting on it early in the week, but vocal criticism from their ranks repeatedly delayed negotiators from finalizing the bill. While Speaker Mike Johnson preferred to wait 72 hours after the bill’s text was released to vote, lawmakers are eager to get out of town for the holidays, so it’s very likely he won’t follow that rule.

Early Tuesday, several House Republicans stormed out of a morning conference session angry over Johnson’s handling of the bill.

Republican Rep. Eric Burlison of Missouri called the speaker’s funding plan presented at the conference a “total dumpster fire.”

“I think that’s garbage,” Burlison said, adding that he had expressed his frustration with Johnson, who wants to keep the speaker’s gavel in the new year.

“I’m disappointed,” Burlison said when asked about Johnson’s future. “I think he can do better. He can communicate better. The fact that we didn’t see the language today and are scheduled to vote on it this week is unacceptable.”

Republican Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina said he was also frustrated with the funding plan.

“I am not voting for the CR (continuation of the resolution),” he said.

Texas Republican Chip Roy, a frequent critic of the leadership’s spending bills, said: “That’s not the way to do business right.”

“We just generally don’t take the expenses seriously. And as long as you have a blank check, you can’t shrink the government. “If you don’t shrink the government, you can’t live freely,” Roy said.

When asked if he would support the speaker in January, the Texas congressman did not respond.

Georgia Republican Rep. Rich McCormick said as he left the session: “I’m frustrated with the entire approach to this issue because I think once again we’re just increasing the deficit without having a clear plan for the future. “

After relying on bipartisan support from Democrats to pass the last five continuing resolutions, Johnson brushed aside criticism brewing within his ranks and emphasized that the bill had not yet been made public.

“I have a few friends who just say that about every year-end funding measure,” Johnson said. “This isn’t an omnibus, okay? This is a small CR to which we had to add things that were out of our control. These are not man-made disasters. These are things in which the federal government plays an appropriate role.”

Despite the growing tensions, Johnson expressed optimism that his speakership will overcome the challenges to buy the conference time until Republicans have unified control of Washington next year.

“I’m not worried about the speaker’s voice. We rule. Everyone knows we have difficult circumstances. We are doing the best we can under these circumstances,” Johnson said. “These are the difficult decisions that lawmakers have to make, but we will get the job done like we always do.” We will. We will move forward and in January we will have a new lease for all of this.”

With federal funding set to expire at the end of the week, Johnson insisted that the House must adhere to a 72-hour rule in which voting begins as soon as the text of the bill is released.

“I believe in the 72-hour role rule,” Johnson said. “We are committed to all of this. We will take care of these commitments and get this done, and then we will go to work in the 119th Congress in a unified government.” It starts in January.”