House Republican leaders expected to bypass GOP opposition by relying heavily on Democrats to keep government open
CNN
House Republicans are expected to bypass mounting GOP opposition to a spending bill to keep the government running into December by using a procedural floor move that would rely heavily on Democrats to pass the legislation and avoid a government shutdown.
House Republicans are expected to bypass mounting GOP opposition to a spending bill to keep the government running into December by using a procedural floor move that would rely heavily on Democrats to pass the legislation and avoid a government shutdown. The House Rules Committee stripped the government spending bill from consideration Monday night, forcing House GOP leadership to tee up the spending bill under a procedure known as suspension of the rules, which requires a two-thirds majority vote to pass. Relying on Democrats to overcome their narrow, divided majority and keep the government open has been a regular occurrence for Republicans this Congress, and was the exact maneuver that got former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy ousted from his job. Republicans have long known they’d need to rely on Democrats to pass the shutdown-averting measure this time around, but with Democratic votes now likely to vastly outnumber the GOP supporters, House Speaker Mike Johnson finds himself in a risky position with his conference. GOP Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana told CNN, “It is disappointing. We have a Republican majority. We should be cutting spending.” On if Johnson has mishandled the situation, Banks added, “He had an opportunity to put a spending bill on the floor that cut wasteful spending, we have had the majority for two years, we haven’t seen that happen. That was my hope with a Republican majority, but we are going to finish the Republican majority without cutting spending and that is why I am voting no.” GOP Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, who is also against the clean government spending extension, stopped short of calling Johnson’s leadership a mistake.
Senate Democrats grilled Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his various controversial statements including his stance on vaccines during his confirmation hearing to be President Donald Trump’s health and human services secretary, and most left feeling overwhelmingly unsatisfied by the answers they received.
A Nigerian man has been extradited to the US to face charges in the “sextortion” of a South Carolina teen who died by suicide in 2022. Prosecutors allege the scammer posed as a young woman, persuaded 17-year-old Gavin Guffey to send him nude photos and then threatened to publicize them if Guffey didn’t send money.