Pure pandemonium…
The house passed a spending package Friday to avert a shutdown. USA Today reported that the passage of this package will finalize funding until September, so we won’t have any shutdown worries for a bit. The package is going to the Senate, where it should pass Friday evening or over the weekend. Washington Post reported that the package passed with a 286 to 134 bipartisan vote, and it is supported by both Congressional leaders and President Biden. Speaker Johnson had to suspend House rules to get it done, which worked, though some are not happy. WaPo reported that Mike Gallagher (R-WI) announced that he would resign next month. Good. Every one of the far-right Republicans who continue to do things that harm this country need to go. Hey, take MTG with you.
This package contained some very important funding to the Departments of Defense, State, Homeland Security, Treasury, Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services. It also provides some funding to other agencies. Johnson secured just over the needed two-thirds majority to pass the package, with 101 Republican votes and 185 Democratic votes. The new Democrats for Border Security Task Force was happy, as the package will fund “a record number of Border Patrol agents” and increases their overtime pay.
Following the vote, the chief troublemaker in the House, Marjorie Taylor Greene, filed a motion to remove Johnson. According to WaPo, she did not give advance notice, so her motion won’t be heard until after a 16-day recess. Democrats will vote to keep Johnson, and Greene won’t get the majority necessary to pass her motion. Knowing that her motion is going nowhere, NBC News reported that she told reporters that her motion was filed as a “warning” and “not a pink slip.” She further said that she doesn’t want to “throw the House into chaos.” Oh, please, spare me. Her middle name is Chaos. She brings nothing of value to the table, and she’s so incredibly unprofessional.
Interestingly, Matt Gaetz told reporters that he’s not interested in removing Johnson. His reasoning is that if Johnson is removed, they would end up with a Democrat. Gaetz believes that Republicans would cross over, and they would have Hakeem Jeffries as the speaker, which isn’t such a bad idea. Gaetz further claimed: “You can only vacate the speaker if you know that the party leadership won’t change hands. I knew that with certainty last time. I don’t know it with certainty this time.” Plus, it sounds like trying to remove Johnson might be an effort in futility. Moderate Democrats have already said that they would vote to save him. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) will be among the Democrats who vote to keep Johnson. “This is a comedy routine, the idea that they’re trying to kick the speaker out for trying to keep the government open. It’s absurd. So, I’m fed up with it and I’ll vote to keep him the speaker.” It is absurd, but that’s what we’re dealing with right now from the far-right and far-left contingents. Johnson was right to change the rules so that they couldn’t sabotage this package.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years