by Kristina Karisch | The Hill
Congress is back from Thanksgiving break this week, spoiling for a spending fight.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are predicting a GOP battle royale over federal spending at the start of the election year as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) struggles to balance House conservatives’ demands of fiscal reform with keeping the government operating. While the new Speaker was able to prevent a shutdown earlier this month without massive repercussions, House Freedom Caucus members are signaling they won’t give him another free pass — even though Johnson has limited power to get his way given Democratic control of the White House and Senate.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said earlier this month that Johnson’s concessions to Democrats to pass funding stopgaps until January and February are “strike one, strike two,” putting the Louisiana Republican at risk of getting kicked out of his job if he cuts another deal that fails to make significant cuts to federal spending. Johnson could suffer a similar fate to that of his predecessor, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), whose own negotiations with Democrats cost him the gavel in October.
A GOP senator who requested anonymity to discuss the bitter fighting between mainstream and conservative Republicans told The Hill’s Alexander Bolton that there’s no clear path forward.
“I want to know what we’re going to do the first day we come back from the Thanksgiving break. Will there be another minibus?” the lawmaker said, referring to a package of three or four spending bills.
THE STAKES FOR THE UPCOMING FIGHT, warn Democrats and Republicans, will only get higher as the 2024 election approaches. President Biden looks vulnerable, as does the Democratic Senate majority. But Johnson’s House majority is also in peril, meaning leaders across the board will have to act carefully — which likely means more brinkmanship.
Realistically, we’ll see more of the same. There’s nothing about the December holidays that is going to produce magic in the House dynamic right now. They’re chaotically divided, they’re dysfunctional,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). “The basic problem is there is a group of Republicans who are more interested in throwing grenades than governing. That’s a recipe for disaster.”
So far, the House has passed seven of the dozen full-year funding bills, clearing partisan fiscal 2024 spending plans for the Pentagon, departments of Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs, State, and a host of other agencies in recent months. But leadership is having trouble locking down support for the five remaining bills as some conservatives press for a harder line on reducing spending, while moderates are wary of what could end up on the cutting room floor. The Hill’s Aris Folley breaks down some of the sticking points threatening each remaining bill.
The Hill: Johnson brings defense chops to the upcoming spending fight.
THE DYNAMICS IN CONGRESS HAVE BECOME SO “TOXIC” that some lawmakers are throwing in the towel altogether. With legislating all but brought to a halt and partisanship at an alarming high, The Hill’s Mychael Schnell reports members of Congress in both parties are running for the exits, opting out of another term on Capitol Hill to vie for higher office or, in some cases, leave politics altogether.
Thirty House members — 19 Democrats and 11 Republicans — have announced that they will not seek reelection next year, covering a wide range of congressional seniority, post-House plans and reasons for jumping ship. Sixteen are retiring from public office, 11 are running for seats in the Senate, and three are eyeing other government positions.
“Right now, Washington, D.C. is broken,” Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) said in a statement when announcing that she would not run for reelection. “[I]t is hard to get anything done.”
▪ The New York Times: Here are the members of Congress giving up their seats, setting up a 2024 fight.
▪ USA Today: Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) — who is challenging Biden for the 2024 nomination — is not running for reelection to Congress in 2024.
Still, one new member will join the lower chamber this week: Rep.-elect Celeste Maloy (R-Utah) won a Thanksgiving-week special election for the open U.S. House seat left vacant by her former boss, Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah).
3 THINGS TO KNOW TODAY
- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) plans to hold a vote on Biden’s request for billions in assistance for Ukraine and Israel as soon as the week of Dec. 4.
- As the war in Ukraine grinds into its second winter, a growing number of Russian soldiers want out, as suggested in secret recordings obtained by The Associated Press of Russian soldiers calling home from the battlefield.
- House Republicans are bringing fresh attention to the Jan. 6, 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob in ways that are earning praise from former President Trump and the party base.