Dem
51
GOP
49
Tuesday, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was hailed as a conquering hero for his amazing feat of kicking the can 2 months down the road, without any sign of how the two parties are going to agree on the content of the budget in January. Yesterday the honeymoon came to an abrupt end. A normally routine procedural motion to advance one of the least-controversial budget bills (for Commerce, Justice, and Science) failed when conservatives voted against it to demonstrate their displeasure with Johnson. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) said: "It's never easy to get work done around here. It's a lot harder when you have people who I think are prone to emotionally immature decisions." In response to the failure of this bill, the Speaker pulled other bills to avoid more defeats.
It's a rocky start for the new speaker. If he ignores the Freedom Caucus, they will tank all his bills. If he lets them run the show, the Biden 18 will rise up in anger. And if the House manages to pass any FC-approved bills, they are dead on arrival in the Senate. (V)