Capitol agenda: House floor freezes over
Politico – Congress
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Summary
Last July 4 recess, House Republicans were triumphantly celebrating the massive victory of clearing the party’s tax and spending bill. Fast forward a year and Speaker Mike Johnson can’t even get enough votes to open his chamber’s floor for debate. “Who needs Democrats when you have your own party derailing the Trump agenda,” Rep. Progress on the annual Pentagon policy bill, fiscal 2027 government funding bills, Iran war funding measure, third party-line reconciliation bill and more is frozen in the party’s paralysis. Frustration at the roughly dozen Republicans who refused to support a procedural vote to unlock floor business exploded Tuesday afternoon as members watched their legislation become collateral damage. The hard-liners want Johnson to do more to force the Senate to pass an election security bill. “We’ve got knuckleheads taking down the rules, that’s frustrating,” Rep. John Rutherford said in an interview. “They think they’re putting some kind of pressure on the Senate, but you don’t put pressure on the Senate by shutting down the House floor.” Anger from the hard-liners had been simmering for days even as Johnson tried to appease the group by effectively attaching the SAVE America Act to the must-pass defense policy bill. Chip Roy and Andy Harris, also cited what they said was a broken promise from Johnson to hold a vote on an immigration bill before the July 4 recess, among other concerns . They’ll need to use valuable floor time to pass the defense policy bill, including votes on more than 300 amendments. Another casualty of the frozen floor: Republicans left town unable to vote on a ceremonial resolution commemorating the one-year anniversary of the tax-cut legislation that remains the GOP’s major legislative victory in Trump’s second term. Johnson tried to project optimism amid his conference’s meltdown Tuesday. “We don’t have time to waste because we’re coming up on an election and the end of Congress,” Johnson told reporters.
From the source
Last July 4 recess, House Republicans were triumphantly celebrating the massive victory of clearing the party’s tax and spending bill. Fast forward a year and Speaker Mike Johnson can’t even get enough votes to open his chamber’s floor for debate. “Who needs Democrats when you have your own party derailing the Trump agenda,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis said Tuesday. A rebellion by a small band of conservatives now jeopardizes members’ top priorities as the legislative calendar ahead of the midterms rapidly shrinks. Progress on the annual Pentagon policy bill, fiscal 2027 government funding bills, Iran war funding measure, third party-line reconciliation bill and more is frozen in the party’s paralysis. Frustration at the roughly dozen Republicans who refused to support a procedural vote to unlock floor business exploded Tuesday afternoon as members watched their legislation become collateral damage. The hard-liners want Johnson to do more to force the Senate to pass an election security bi
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