Mike Johnson and the GOP Reportedly Have Covert Plan to Stop Government Shutdown
Newly ensconced House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana has little time for settling in at his new leadership position as the budget fight looms as his biggest hurdle for the near future. But some reports are saying he has a secret plan to avoid a government shutdown.
The Republican Party, which has a scant majority in the House of Representatives, struggled to put one of their own in the speaker’s chair, of course.
Californian Republican Kevin McCarthy went through vote after vote and only finally succeeded to the office by agreeing to add a clause that allowed any member to call for his ouster at any time and force a floor vote. That provision eventually doomed his speakership in only nine months.
After he was voted out, a long list of candidates tried to gain the leadership position, but one-by-one failed to get the votes, even after several were touted as the “party nominee” for the job. Finally last month Johnson became a consensus candidate and won the seat.
While he has already proven popular among both parties, he is also faced with an extremely challenging budget battle, a battle that had been put off for months by the wrangling for the speaker’s chair.
The current budgeting law will sunset in a week, and that means there is no money approved to fund the government.
If you are unaware, the House of Representatives is responsible for originating all government budget bills. Once approved in the lower chamber, they go to the Senate where they either approve it, or send it back for changes.
When both houses finally sign onto it, the bill goes to the president’s desk to be signed into law and to fund the government.
The founders devised this process because they wanted to avoid the practices of other countries where government was automatically funded long-term. The founders thought automatic funding was a recipe for corruption and misappropriation. They would probably not be very excited about what we’ve since done to their system, regardless.
Of course, the budget bill fight is still an urgent issue. For reasons only the left-wing biased media can explain, a government shutdown always redounds hard against Republicans. And with the 2024 election less than a year away, Johnson is struggling to secure a budget win.
The problem is, Johnson’s caucus is fractured. The more hardcore, fiscal hawks in the GOP would not be all that upset by a government shutdown. But a larger number — but not large enough number — of Republicans want to avoid it. And Democrats are not interested at all in lending a hand. They are of a mind to let the GOP hang themselves.
Johnson has apparently offered a novel budget plan that is being called a “laddered” or “staggered” process, in which a series of smaller bills are put through targeting funding for specific sectors of government instead if one big bill addressing it all.
This idea has never been tried, but according to MSNBC’s Hayes Brown, it is being looked on favorably even by the conservatives.
Naturally, some in the Senate are already skeptical of the idea.
West Virginia Republican Senator Shelley Moore said, “Having never heard of it before, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
And Republican Senator Collins of Maine was also skeptical, saying she has “a lot of reservations” about the idea. Democrat senator from Washington State Patty Murray was more blunt, saying, “That’s the craziest, stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of.”
Johnson is also hamstrung by the “72-hour rule,” a rule that gives House members 72 hours to review any budget bill before being expected to vote on it. This makes his negotiations very tight.
To date, Johnson has enjoyed mostly positive reviews from House members of both parties. But this budget battle could mark a very quick end to the little honeymoon he has enjoyed.
So far, he has not revealed what these staggered bills will look like or what will be in them. This means he only has until Tuesday, at the latest to get them crafted and before legislators for that 72-hour look-see period. This leaves Johnson with very little room for error.
With his first few efforts as speaker, Johnson proved to be a conservative movement guy, now a wheeler and dealer free of a grounding in conservative principles.
But he has never faced a situation as delicate as this budget fight. It remains to be seen if he can stick to his principles and still get his “staggered” budget bills passed by a weary Congress.
The eyes of the country are on him and the stakes are high.
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The post Mike Johnson and the GOP Reportedly Have Covert Plan to Stop Government Shutdown appeared first on The Western Journal.
How does the current budgeting process in the House of Representatives contribute to the urgency of finding a solution?
In a time where the budget fight looms as House Speaker Mike Johnson’s biggest hurdle, rumors have emerged that he may have a secret plan to avoid a government shutdown. Newly ensconced in his leadership position, Johnson faces the daunting task of navigating the budget battle, which has been put off for months due to the wrangling for the speaker’s chair.
The Republican Party, with its scant majority in the House of Representatives, struggled to appoint one of their own as speaker. Kevin McCarthy, a Californian Republican, faced multiple votes before finally succeeding to the office. However, the addition of a clause allowing any member to call for his ouster proved to be his downfall, resulting in his removal after just nine months. Various candidates vied for the leadership position, but one by one they failed to secure the necessary votes. Finally, last month Johnson emerged as a consensus candidate and claimed the seat.
Johnson has already proven to be popular among both parties. However, with an imminent budget battle on the horizon, he must now face an extremely challenging task. The current budgeting law is set to sunset in just a week, which means that there is currently no approved funding to support the government’s operations.
It is worth noting that the House of Representatives is responsible for originating all government budget bills. Once approved in the lower chamber, the bills are passed to the Senate for further consideration. The Senate can either approve the bill or send it back for revisions. When both houses finally agree on the bill, it is then sent to the president for signature, thus funding the government.
This process was devised by the founders to avoid the automatic long-term funding practices of other countries, which they believed led to corruption and misappropriation. However, the current state of affairs may not align with the founders’ intentions.
As the deadline quickly approaches, Johnson must find a solution to avoid a government shutdown. Whether he has a secret plan up his sleeve remains to be seen. But one thing is for sure – the budget battle will be a defining moment for his speakership and will test his ability to navigate the complexities of the legislative process. Only time will tell if he can successfully guide the government through this challenging period.
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