{"id":2145150,"date":"2024-01-10T07:04:01","date_gmt":"2024-01-10T12:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/speaker-johnson-folds-like-a-cheap-suit-to-democrats-spending-increases\/"},"modified":"2024-01-10T09:08:45","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T14:08:45","slug":"speaker-johnson-folds-like-a-cheap-suit-to-democrats-spending-increases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/speaker-johnson-folds-like-a-cheap-suit-to-democrats-spending-increases\/","title":{"rendered":"Speaker Johnson capitulates to Democrats&#8217; spending hikes"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fspeaker-johnson-folds-like-a-cheap-suit-to-democrats-spending-increases%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2145150&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p><!--?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?--><!--?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?--><!--?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?--><!--?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?--><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>With \u201cfriends\u201d\u2062 like Mike Johnson, do conservatives really \u200cneed enemies?<\/p>\n<p>That question, harsh as it sounds, should echo in\u200b the \u200bminds \u200cof individuals and groups\u2063 who \u2063want to restrain Washington\u2019s inflation-causing spending. The agreement House Speaker Johnson <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/house\/4394251-speaker-johnson-announces-topline-spending-deal-to-avoid-government-shutdown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cut with Democrats\u200c over the weekend<\/a> would actually <em>raise<\/em> spending compared to what would happen \u2063under the status quo. That additional spending binge might \u200cconstitute the kind of change Democrats believe \u200din, but it \u2062shouldn\u2019t persuade fellow \u2062Republicans to sign off on this ill-conceived plan.<\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1934563294\" class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-39366940cd866e4928e520279b48db58\" class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-39366940cd866e4928e520279b48db58 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Debt Deal\u2019s Spending Caps<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Almost eight months \u2064ago, I <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/05\/31\/mccarthys-debt-limit-deal-virtually-guarantees-another-omnibus-train-wreck\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a> about how the debt\u2062 limit agreement then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., negotiated with Democrats virtually \u2063guaranteed another massive omnibus spending \u2063bill. As part \u200dof that argument, I noted that the debt limit \u200cdeal contained provisions triggering automatic changes\u200c in\u200d spending levels should \u2064Congress not pass all 12 of its annual \u2064appropriations measures.<\/p>\n<p>Back in May, those changes meant that \u201cspending on defense programs\u2063 \u2014 which Republicans generally\u200d support\u200c \u2014 will <em>decrease<\/em>, \u2063while spending on non-defense programs will actually\u200b <em>increase<\/em> \u200dwhen compared to \u200bthe \u2064underlying \u200cspending targets laid out in the debt limit\u200b bill\u201d (emphasis\u200c original). I argued \u200bin May that Republican \u201cdefense hawks\u201d would push for an omnibus to avoid those automatic \u2062cuts, and Democrats would likewise have\u200b leverage to \u200ddemand a bloated omnibus spending\u200c bill, because \u2064doing nothing would\u2063 otherwise\u200b result in two outcomes they largely support \u2014 lower defense spending and higher non-defense spending.<\/p>\n<p>But the\u2064 dynamic changed substantially in the months since, in a way\u2064 that gives Republicans additional leverage. The \u200dCongressional Budget Office (CBO) reestimated the spending caps \u2064due \u200dto budgetary \u201canomalies\u201d and other technical changes. (Wonky details are available <a href=\"https:\/\/rollcall.com\/2023\/11\/21\/backstop-in-debt-limit-law-flips-script-on-spending-endgame\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">in this article<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>The end result of\u200c the\u2062 CBO \u200breestimate? If the debt deal\u2019s spending caps kick in, non-defense spending would <em>decrease significantly<\/em>, while defense spending would get held largely flat. In other words, conservatives have significant leverage to demand spending concessions from Democrats, because the status quo under current law \u2064would result in an outcome most conservatives would\u2062 support.<\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-28d3c9eafcfe8feade64bef03c4a2173\" class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-28d3c9eafcfe8feade64bef03c4a2173 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Shady \u2018Side \u2064Deal\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Given that dynamic, what did Speaker Johnson and Republican \u201cleadership\u201d do? By and large, they bailed the Democrats out of \u2062the predicament they put themselves in last May.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson\u2019s office \u200bhas <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/4396402-spending-deal-things-to-know\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">framed the agreement<\/a> as one that \u201crepresents\u2063 an actual cut in non-VA, non-defense spending.\u201d But Johnson\u2019s statement leaves\u2064 unanswered a key question: a \u201ccut\u201d compared to what?<\/p>\n<p>Relative to spending \u2062levels in the\u2064 fiscal year that concluded last \u200dSept. \u206230, non-defense spending might decline by a nominal amount. But an\u200d increase in \u2064defense spending means that overall spending will still\u200b trend higher than the bloated budget passed late in \u20622022 under former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, \u200dD-Calif.<\/p>\n<p>More importantly, relative \u2062to the caps that are in \u2062current law \u2062and\u200b will take effect in\u2063 a few months \u200cshould Congress not pass 12 \u200cappropriations \u2062bills, spending \u200dwill increase,\u200b and\u200b increase substantially. My friend Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, has a good \u2064chart that \u2062shows the difference:<\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-afb4b9114497ecfc50ce2e381e7aa6a3\" class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-afb4b9114497ecfc50ce2e381e7aa6a3 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\"><\/div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HouseGOP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@HouseGOP<\/a> FAILED to use\u200c its \u2062leverage to force cuts to inflationary spending<\/p>\n<p>We must\u2063 reject this\u2064 &#8220;deal&#8221; w\/ \u200cDems that\u200c will INCREASE spending by ~$30 BILLION &#038; fund agencies at war \u2064with our liberty &#038; security \u2013 like Mayorkas&#8217;\u200c DHS<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NoGimmicks?src=hash&#038;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NoGimmicks<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NoSideDeals?src=hash&#038;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NoSideDeals<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NoSecurityNoFunding?src=hash&#038;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NoSecurityNoFunding<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XRBmzUshyz\">pic.twitter.com\/XRBmzUshyz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Rep. Chip Roy Press\u200d Office (@RepChipRoy) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepChipRoy\/status\/1744778877845610530?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 9, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The\u200d difference between the yellow \u200bline, overall spending levels if\u200c the caps \u200din May\u2019s debt deal take effect, and the red line in\u200c this weekend\u2019s agreement amounts to the additional spending Johnson agreed\u200c to. Even by Washington standards, that roughly \u200b$100 billion\u2063 difference amounts to real money.<\/p>\n<p>That difference in spending arises because Johnson agreed to maintain a \u201cside deal\u201d arrangement negotiated between McCarthy and Biden last spring to increase \u200cnon-defense spending.\u200c He did\u2064 so even though this \u201cdeal\u201d was not \u200cwritten anywhere \u2064in law, such that\u200d neither he (who wasn\u2019t\u2063 in the room\u2063 when it was negotiated) nor anyone else actually voted\u200c to\u200c support it last spring.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson did receive some\u2062 minor concessions \u2062that\u2063 modified this \u201cside\u200d deal.\u201d Specifically, more of\u2063 the spending in this agreement was paid for by rescinding unspent Covid money and an additional $10 billion in IRS funding that Democrats \u2062passed in the Inflation \u2062(Reduction) Act in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>But rescinding Covid money that\u200d wasn\u2019t going \u2062to \u2062be spent anyway amounts to little \u200bmore than putting lipstick\u200b on a pig. Johnson had every bit of leverage to\u200c demand\u2064 that \u200dthe spending \u200creductions \u2064already scheduled to take place actually go\u200d into effect \u2014 or force\u2062 the Democrats into a \u201cshutdown showdown\u201d\u2062 over their desire to spend, spend, spend. Instead, \u200dhe caved like a \u2062cheap suit.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>But Wait \u2014 There\u2019s More!<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>As if\u200d the\u200d speaker\u2019s failure to use his\u2062 leverage on spending weren\u2019t bad \u200denough, Johnson \u2063also <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FaceTheNation\/status\/1743385835897053368?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">conceded late last week<\/a> that he would not insist on border security provisions being added to the annual spending bills. As a\u2063 result, Johnson and any other Republican \u200dwho votes for \u200cthese spending measures\u200d will continue to\u200b fund the Biden administration\u2019s fecklessness at the border.<\/p>\n<p>And lest one think that the\u2064 humiliation was not\u200c total, \u200cSen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/live-updates\/2024\/01\/09\/congress\/thunes-march-spending-patch-short-term-float-senate-00134518\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">among others<\/a>, have\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/4398308-mcconnell-short-term-spending-stopgap-cr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">publicly\u2062 stated<\/a> that\u2063 \u201cobviously\u201d Congress\u200c will have to pass at \u200cleast one more <a title=\"House Passes Stop-Gap Bill Funding Government Through February\" href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-passes-stop-gap-bill-funding-government-through-february\/\">short-term continuing resolution<\/a>\u2063 to \u2062allow lawmakers \u2064to draft specifics of the spending agreement \u2064into law. Recall that Johnson\u2063 publicly \u200ccommitted last\u200c year that he was \u201cdone\u201d with more <a title=\"Derek Ellerman: Once Again, McConnell and the Vichy Republicans Are Preparing to Sell You Out\" href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/derek-ellerman-once-again-mcconnell-and-the-vichy-republicans-are-preparing-to-sell-you-out\/\">short-term spending bills<\/a>. So much for that promise.<\/p>\n<p>However, there still is another way. Johnson can \u2014 and should \u200d\u2014 put a continuing resolution on the floor.\u2062 But this one should\u200d fund the\u2064 entire government at \u2062current spending levels through Sept. 30,\u2064 the end \u2064of the fiscal year. \u200dPassing \u200dthis type\u2062 of\u200d continuing resolution would allow the spending cuts included \u2064in the debt limit bill to take effect\u200d \u2014 i.e., the\u200c outcome Johnson claims to support.<\/p>\n<p>If Democrats want to filibuster that \u200dcontinuing resolution in the Senate, i.e., shut down the government because\u200d they\u200c want to bust through the spending caps \u200cnegotiated not nine months ago, then let \u2063them. Republican \u201cleaders\u201d \u2064should stop trying to beat the \u2064Democrats \u2062at their\u200b own\u200d big-spending \u200dgame.<\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3a3893224c67bc604177e398c6b11828\" class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3a3893224c67bc604177e398c6b11828 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>rnrn<\/p>\n<h2>How will the\u200d recent spending\u2062 deal cut by House Speaker Johnson with Democrats impact Washington&#8217;s spending?<\/h2>\n<p>In the recent spending deal\u200b cut \u200dby House \u200dSpeaker Johnson with Democrats, conservatives are left wondering if they really need enemies, considering the detrimental effects \u200dthis agreement will have on Washington&#8217;s spending. The deal\u200d will actually increase spending, going against the efforts of those\u200c who want to \u200brestrain inflation-causing spending. While this may be a change that \u200dDemocrats believe in, \u2064it should not persuade fellow \u2063Republicans to support \u200bsuch an ill-conceived plan.<\/p>\n<p>The agreement includes spending caps that \u2062were negotiated by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy with Democrats. These caps contain provisions triggering \u200cautomatic\u2062 changes in spending levels if Congress fails to pass all 12 of its annual appropriations measures. In May, it was predicted that\u200b spending \u2064on defense programs, which Republicans generally support, would decrease,\u200c while spending on non-defense programs would increase compared to the underlying spending targets. This meant that \u2062defense hawks would push for \u200ban omnibus spending bill to \u200davoid\u200c automatic cuts, giving Democrats leverage to demand a bloated omnibus bill.<\/p>\n<p>However, the dynamic has changed, giving Republicans additional\u2062 leverage. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reestimated the spending caps due to budgetary anomalies and\u200d technical changes. The result \u200bis that if the debt deal&#8217;s spending caps are activated, non-defense spending will \u2064significantly decrease, while defense spending will remain largely flat. This\u200d gives conservatives the opportunity to demand concessions from Democrats, as the \u200dcurrent status quo \u200cwould\u200b result in an outcome that most conservatives would support.<\/p>\n<p>Despite this \u2063leverage, Speaker Johnson and Republican leadership bailed \u200dDemocrats out of the predicament they put themselves in last May. Johnson&#8217;s office claims that the agreement represents an actual \u2064cut in non-defense spending. However, when compared to the caps in current law, non-defense spending\u2064 will still increase substantially.\u200b While there may be a nominal decline relative to the spending levels in the previous fiscal year, an increase in defense spending offsets this decrease and results in\u2062 overall higher spending. This is a significant difference that amounts to real money.<\/p>\n<p>The\u2062 reason for this additional spending is the &#8220;side deal&#8221; arrangement negotiated between McCarthy and Biden \u2064last spring to increase non-defense spending. Johnson agreed to maintain this side deal, even though it was not written anywhere in law and was \u2063not voted on by anyone\u200c last spring.\u2062 While Johnson did receive \u200cminor concessions in terms of rescinding unspent Covid\u200b money and additional IRS funding, these measures \u2063do not\u200b make a significant\u2064 impact. Johnson had the\u2063 leverage\u200d to demand that the scheduled spending \u200dreductions \u200cactually take effect or force Democrats into a &#8220;shutdown showdown&#8221; over their desire to \u2064spend excessively. Unfortunately, he caved and\u200c accepted the deal.<\/p>\n<p>In \u200daddition to Speaker\u2064 Johnson&#8217;s failure to use his\u200b leverage on spending, he also made concessions late last week\u2063 on the debt limit\u2064 extension. These concessions\u200d include backing down on demands for serious fiscal reforms \u200cand accepting\u200d a <a title=\"Congress Skirts Nationwide Economic Catastrophe After Last-Minute Agreement To Lift Debt Ceiling\" href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/congress-skirts-nationwide-economic-catastrophe-after-last-minute-agreement-to-lift-debt-ceiling\/\">short-term extension<\/a>\u2064 that will allow Congress\u2062 to\u200b spend even more. This demonstrates a lack of commitment to addressing the debt crisis and prioritizing fiscal responsibility.<\/p>\n<p>Conservatives should be skeptical of\u2064 such agreements that \u2064increase spending\u200c and fail to address the underlying issues of fiscal responsibility. Instead of succumbing to the pressure and influence of Democrats, Republicans should \u200cstand \u2063firm in their principles and advocate for\u2064 sustainable spending practices. With \u2064friends like Speaker Johnson, it&#8217;s \u200bcrucial for conservatives to prioritize the well-being of the American people and the long-term stability of the economy over short-term\u200d political\u200c convenience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With Mike Johnson as a &#8220;friend,&#8221; do conservatives truly require foes? This thought should resonate with those aiming to curb Washington&#8217;s inflationary expenses. The deal struck by House Speaker Johnson with Democrats would, in fact, increase spending, contrasting the status quo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":2145151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Speaker Johnson capitulates to Democrats&#8217; spending hikes","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2145150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Speaker Johnson capitulates to Democrats&#8217; spending hikes","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2145150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2145150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2145150\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2145151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2145150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2145150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2145150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}