Mornin’ Politocadoes!
Newly empowered Speaker Mike Johnson has gotten off to an ambitious start to his tenure by getting into a fight with one Senate Minority Leader Mitch “Mitchell!” McConnell. The two outlined their approaches to the end of the year and Johnson seems poised to test his new power by separating Ukraine and Taiwan aid from an overall package with aid to Israel. McConnell, for whatever else he is, has been a supporter of Ukraine and has been onboard with an overall bill that ties Ukraine, Taiwan, Israel and border funding altogether.
Johnson also floated the idea of passing another stopgap funding measure that would keep the government funded through January 15th and a second one that would fund it until April. Johnson also advocated for steep spending cuts, which is something that his far right colleagues are always a fan of. None of this seemed to resonate with Mitch, who is far more interested in making sure the government doesn’t default. He also is focused on increased defense spending, following increased tension with Iran, Russia, and China. Defense hawks in general are worried that any continuing resolution will result in more protracted spending fights.
Johnson insisted that he couldn’t pass a bill bundling Israel aid with Ukraine and Taiwan, saying it was ‘just numbers’, per Sen. Josh Hawley who was at the GOP Conference Lunch. McConnell demurred, pointing out that at the end of it they needed Senate Democrats to support separating them out and that the Biden administration also wants them bundled together for any bill to actually become law.
This is all to say that what Johnson’s actually motivated to do is get aid to Israel, which constituents in his and his allies’ states want funded. If that gets separated out there’s no reason for him to bring to the floor motions to send aid to Ukraine or to Taiwan. His suggestions about passing more stopgap measures seem to have landed with a thud. It’s too early to tell if this is just him being very naive or if he’s just testing the waters and trying to see how much he can get away with. We need to keep the government funded first and foremost and we can’t be wasting time watching him try and fail to get the House Freedom Caucus’ way on things when people’s lives are at stake.
Welcome to Thursday! Please be excellent to each other in the comments. The Mayor McSquirrel Rule remains in effect. Something to keep in mind! Police are using digital data to prosecute abortion seekers, and Facebook and Google are helping them! Even if they are not legally required to do so, the tech giants will aid them in this since it’s technically *against the law*. Please be careful when looking for abortion providers or helping someone who is looking for that assistance.
The Covid-19 pandemic continues even if the emergencies end, continue to vaccinate using the latest version of the FDA approved vaccines by Phizer and Moderna. Even if you are vaccinated, please continue to maintain social distancing measures, wear masks in public areas in accordance with CDC guidelines in regard to your own vaccination status.