House Speaker Mike Johnson really is as big a whack job as we suspected, basically trying to jam through legislation that has no chance of passing. Via Punchbowl News:
The passage of the Israel bill was a victory for Johnson. But his decision to couple the aid with $14 billion in cuts to the IRS robbed Israel of the money it needs in the short term. And it robbed the Louisiana Republican of the opportunity to make law early on in his speakership.
Now the Senate could soon dump a bill that pairs aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan on Johnson’s lap — likely with provisions addressing the U.S.-Mexico border crisis.
By then, Israel will need the money urgently and Johnson will have to figure out how to muscle it — or some other bill — through his chamber. Johnson has already told Senate Republicans he won’t accept grouping aid to Israel and Ukraine.
But wait, there's more!
With the government shutting down in 15 days, Johnson has said he wants to extend spending authority until Jan. 15. But on Thursday, the speaker floated a bizarre plan hatched by Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) — a “laddered CR.” The scheme, which Johnson only described obliquely, would extend government funding agency by agency for different periods of time. This could effectively create a cascade of government shutdown threats over the next few months.
Children break things. It's all they know how to do.
