Republican-led legislation was humiliated on Thursday after killing its ambitious plan to pass all 12 annual funding bills by the August recess. As CBS's Scott MacFarlane notes, "This is typically low-hanging fruit." However, the GOP somehow "failed to pass a spending bill to fund Congress itself." In addition, the legislation would have boosted funding for Capitol Police and helped pay for Capitol operations.
Democrats weren't too happy about the bill due to specific provisions targeting DEI and the LGBT+ community. Republicans have a slight majority in the House, but they were still unable to pass it. The Democratic-led Senate plans to advance its own proposal.
Via The Hill:
While Democrats have described the spending levels in the proposed funding bill as "reasonable," the party has come out against the overall legislation due to what it argues are partisan "messaging provisions."
"This bill contains provisions that eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs and allows for discrimination towards the LGBTQI+ community," Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the subcommittee that wrote the bill, said on the floor Thursday morning.
"This bill removes a provision to eliminate or reduce plastic waste across the legislative branch of government, further contributing to climate change's impacts. In addition, it eliminates a requirement for members to lease low-emission vehicles," he said. House Republicans are expected to vote on the remaining seven bills after the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee next week.
However, additional challenges lie ahead in the second batch of bills. They include riders on hot-button areas such as abortion that could prove to be a key test for Republicans in the months leading up to the November races, particularly as Democrats continue to hammer the GOP on reproductive rights.
Well, we know how Republicans feel about abortion and women. And their leader, a felon, has switched his position on the issue eleventy bazillion times. He'll say anything for the evangelical vote, even if it's contrary to what he has said in the past.
