| | | | How Congress will fail to do its most basic job (again) |  | | If Congress does, literally, nothing else every year, the two chambers are supposed to pass a series of appropriations bills that appropriate -- eh! -- money to the various parts of the federal government to keep it all up, operating and open.
And yet, as of this evening, it looks virtually certain that Congress will fail to do that most basic duty and instead do what it does best these days: Kick the can down the road and hope a solution presents itself in two weeks or two months.
"Looking toward that," Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, told CNN's Manu Raju about a short-term continuing resolution to keep the government open past the deadline of midnight Friday.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican, told Raju that a short-term package was the "likeliest path forward," given the inability of the two sides to reach a deal on President Donald Trump's ask for $5 billion to partially fund his border wall.
To be clear: Because the White House and Congress can't agree on a way to fund the Homeland Security Department (and roughly 25% of the total federal government) for the next year, they are very likely to pass something that keeps the government open for a few weeks but does exactly nothing to address the underlying disagreement.
They will settle on this half-loaf measure because they are afraid of the political blame game that could result if the government shuts down -- even for a short period.
And so, we will move from this shutdown showdown to the next one -- adding another chapter in the "governance by lurching from crisis to crisis" handbook that Congress and the White House have been writing for the last decade or so.
Of course, nothing is out of the question until the clock strikes midnight on Friday. Last-minute deals can and do happen -- especially in Congress.
The Point: Even if a deal comes together that funds the government for the next year, this is no way to run a business -- much less the federal government. Governing from crisis to crisis helps no one in the long run.
-- Chris | | "Nixon paved the way. If you want to get elected president ... move to New York."
-- California Gov. Jerry Brown on any Californian's 2020 prospects, bemoaning the state's disadvantage of being so far away from East Coast power centers. | | |  | 60% of Americans don't believe Trump's Russia lies | | | As the Mueller probe ramps up, President Trump has taken to Twitter to slam the investigation. But according to a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC poll, less than 34% of Americans believe Trump is "honest and truthful" about the Russia investigation, Chris explains. Subscribe to The Point on YouTube! | | A third group has emerged in the hopes of encouraging Texas Democrat Beto O'Rourke to run for president.
This latest "Draft Beto" group stands out for its specific fundraising goal: Raise $1 million for O'Rourke's presidential campaign.
But O'Rourke's not the only would-be candidate with energetic -- and organized -- supporters. A "Draft Sherrod Brown" group emerged yesterday to back the Democratic Ohio senator. Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley serves as the group's co-chairperson. | | | "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" by the Jackson 5. It doesn't get much better. | | Nevada just became the first state with a majority-female legislature.
Women now hold 32 of the 63 total seats in the Legislature: 23 in the state Assembly and nine in the state Senate.
Women's representation in state capitols across the country is much lower on average -- just below 25%, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. | |  | New York Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rode high on a green wave of small-dollar donations in her successful bid to unseat Rep. Joe Crowley.
Ocasio-Cortez, who campaigned on not accepting donations from corporate interests, received the highest percentage of small-dollar donations (individual contributions under $200) of any other candidate in 2018.
Around 62% of Ocasio-Cortez's $2 million raised came from small-dollar donations, according to Open Secrets, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington. | |
WHEN YOU LOSE, BUT STILL END UP IN THE SENATE | | Arizona Republican Martha McSally may have lost her campaign for US Senate this November, but she's still headed to Washington to represent Arizona in the Senate.
How?
McSally has been tapped by Gov. Doug Ducey to fill late-Sen. John McCain's Senate seat. She replaces GOP Sen. Jon Kyl, who is resigning months after Ducey selected him in September to temporarily fill the seat of McCain, who died in August.
If McSally wants to keep the seat after 2020, she will have to win a special election. | |  | | From Brenna: "SpaceX may have scrapped its rocket launch scheduled for this morning, but you know what IS going ahead? SPACE FORCE! 🚀Well, for now, Space Command. But let's not get technical. Share The Point to infinity and beyond!" | | | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment