After a week of predictable drama, President Joe Biden signed a government funding bill on Saturday, averting yet another government shutdown because of our government’s terminal addiction to spending money we don’t have.
As we noted earlier, the package limps the government along to March 14, when this is Trump’s problem, and includes $100 billion in disaster aid and a one-year farm bill. It notably did not include a debt limit extension demanded by Trump.
After passing through the house on the third try, the funding bill passed overnight in the Senate on Saturday by a vote of 85-11, while the House vote was 366-34.
Here are the winners and losers:
Elon Musk – whose viral posts on X helped spread the word that the original 1500+ page bill was total bullshit that was packed with pork.
The billionaire businessman and close Trump ally came out against Johnson’s initial spending plan — which was bipartisan and bicameral — prompting a flood of Republicans to follow suit. The proposal never made it to the floor for a vote amid the widespread opposition.
When Johnson’s grip on the gavel appeared to be losing its strength, some GOP lawmakers floated Musk as a potential Speaker — a longshot prospect but one that underscored their admiration for the SpaceX and Tesla CEO, and discontent with Johnson’s leadership. A House Speaker is not required to actually be a member of the House. -The Hill
Rand Paul agrees…
The Speaker of the House need not be a member of Congress . . .
Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than electing Elon Musk . . . think about it . . . nothing’s impossible. (not to mention the joy at seeing the collective establishment, aka ‘uniparty,’ lose their ever-lovin’…
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 19, 2024
Federal employees – Who aren’t getting coal this year from Uncle Sam. Of note, Congress hasn’t seen a shutdown in about six years. During the last one, thousands of federal workers were furloughed or had some type of disruption in pay.
Farmers – who received $10 billion in economic assistance after some Republicans threatened to spike the stopgap without the aid. The bill also extends the 2018 farm bill by one year.
Disaster aid – of which there’s roughly $100 billion. A large portion of this, $30 billion, will go towards FEMA’s disaster relief fund, which almost ran out of money during hurricane season.
Washington DC – Which will receive control over RFK Stadium. Oh boy.
Losers:
Donald Trump – who now gets to deal with another round of this bullshit in March.
Speaker Mike Johnson – who let this become Trump’s problem by refusing to stand his ground, or split the package into separate bills.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) – whose insistence that any attempt to raise the borrowing limit be paired with spending cuts was ‘rewarded’ by a bitchslap from Trump, who took to Truth Social to call for a primary challenger to take on Roy.
Americans – Who live in a country where spending is so out of control that the government keeps bumping up against its own debt limit like clockwork.
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