Overview
Friday 10am: This is a developing story and we have heard the House will vote this morning on a package to be determined...
Stopgap Stymied: The House is still scrambling to pull together a CR after failing to pass a GOP-favored proposal last night. The proposal would have funded the government through March 14, provided $110 billion in disaster aid, and suspended the debt ceiling through 2027. Democrats announced their fervent opposition to the measure shortly after it was released, raising frustrations that Republicans abandoned the earlier bipartisan package.
That bipartisan package was the draft CR Speaker Johnson had released on Tuesday, which would have funded the government until March 14 and included $100 billion in disaster aid, outbound investment restrictions, economic assistance for farmers, a slew of health care bills, and (controversially) a pay raise for members of Congress. This plan was quickly met with resistance, first from members of the House Freedom Caucus, then Elon Musk and finally President Trump himself. Ultimately, it completely fell apart by mid-day Wednesday.
Tick-Tock: What now? It's all an educated guess at this point, but we clearly know any bill will need Democratic support to pass. One such idea we think could emerge this morning would be the elimination of the debt ceiling attached to the slimmed-down version of the CR we saw yesterday. Both President-elect Trump and Democrats have been advocating to eliminate the debt ceiling entirely for years. This framework could provide enough Democratic votes to pass the bill. It will be an interesting day, and perhaps days, ahead.
GOP Additions: Earlier this week, the House Appropriations Committee announced several new Republican members who will fill spots left by former Chairwoman Kay Granger, and Reps. Mike Garcia, Jake LaTurner, and Jerry Carl in the 119th Congress. The new committee members include Reps. Mark Alford (R-MO), Nick LaLota (R-NY), Dale Strong (R-AL), Celeste Maloy (R-UT), and Riley Moore (R-WV). We will continue reporting on how the House and Senate Subcommittee assignments shake out.
A New Perspective: With all eyes on spending cuts next year, there is no shortage of thought leadership on where to cut spending and how to increase government efficiency. We note that House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) added his voice to the mix this week, penning an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal yesterday. The op-ed emphasizes that ballooning mandatory spending, not discretionary spending, is leading America down the wrong fiscal path. Chairman Cole argues that government initiatives and processes, like DOGE and the reconciliation process, can be utilized to rebalance mandatory spending and deliver for the American people.
