In the middle of the current kerfuffle over keeping the government open is the surprising (to me, anyway) demand from Trump to take the debt ceiling issue off the table for at least two years, maybe five, or perhaps forever. Recognizing that part of what he is doing is trying to take away a tool that could theoretically be used as leverage by Democrats during his administration, I agree that it should go.
I have written extensively on this topic before, so I won’t rehash all that now save to note that if the spending and financing of the spending has already been legislatively authorized by Congress, the entire notion of the debt ceiling is moot. Moreover, we have to get to the point wherein we stop all of this government shutdown nonsense and while getting rid of the debt ceiling doesn’t stop that business altogether, it would take one of the triggers off the table.
It is worth noting that there is profound opposition to its removal in the right-flank of the GOP.
Matt Gaetz, President-elect Trump’s first choice for Attorney General, just got some surprising news: the House Ethics Committee has voted to release their investigation into the former Congress person’s alleged behavior. More details from CNN:
The House Ethics Committee secretly voted earlier this month to release its report into the conduct of former Rep. Matt Gaetz before the end of this Congress, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the matter.
The report is now expected to be made public after the House’s final day of votes this year as lawmakers leave Washington for the holidays, those sources said.
The vote, which has not previously been reported, amounts to a stark reversal for the panel after it had voted along party lines
in late November not to release the results of the investigation. The decision to release the report suggests that some Republicans ultimately decided to side with Democrats on the matter, and it is unclear if the committee will once again change course now that it has voted.
[…]
It is exceedingly rare for an ethics report to be released after a member has left Congress, though it has happened on a couple of occasions in the past. The committee revisited the issue behind closed doors earlier this month after a feud over the report spilled into public view before Thanksgiving.
The Ethics Committee’s report concludes a years-long probe into numerous allegations against Gaetz, including whether he engaged in sexual misconduct, used illicit drugs, “shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gifts,” according to an announcement by the panel last summer.
This report was the tool that Republican senators used to torpedo Gaetz’s nomination for Attorney General. What’s telling is that Republicans remain in control of the House Ethics committee and had previously taken steps to block the release while he was being considered for the AG role.
The fact that at least some of those same Republicans decided to reverse course (albeit in an secret vote) speaks to how little love is lost between Gaetz and his former colleagues within the Republican party. Whether or not this is revenge for Gaetz’s role in ousting former Speaker Kevin McCarthy or just general dislike of the grandstanding former Congressman will be a source of great speculation.
I suspect the answer is “Why not both?!”
However, one note of caution for those of us getting ready to pop our popcorn in anticipation of reading the resport, it’s still possible Speaker Mike Johnson will find some way to either significantly redact the report or block it’s release all together.
And there are good reasons for trying to block this release from a partisan perspective. If the bipartisan committee report is anywhere near as damning as the leaks suggest, will reflect poorly on Gaetz and President Trump’s decision to choose someone with that many ethical issues* to head the Department of Justice.
* – Yes, I am opting to not make the obvious joke that all that experience criming and hiding the evidence would have given Gaetz a real insider’s view on the workings of the criminal legal system. I would never sink that low.
A fed-up Jake Tapper told Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) that congressional Republicans are incapable of governing.
At issue is the latest quasi-regular threat of a government shutdown, which will happen at 12:01 a.m. ET on Saturday if the House, Senate, and president do not agree on a resolution to continue funding the government. The main culprit is the Republican-controlled House, whose members cannot agree on a bill. On Wednesday, it appeared a large 1,547-page bill to keep the government open until March would sail through Congress. However, Elon Musk came out against
the measure, after which President-elect Donald Trumpfollowed suit
. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) pulled
the bill. The next day, the House failed to pass a much smaller version.
On The Lead on CNN, Tapper spoke with Lawler about a new bill ahead of a much-anticipated vote on Friday night. The lawmaker slammed President Joe Biden for not being involved in the process.
“But where is Joe Biden?” Lawler asked. “He’s the sitting president of the United States. Nobody has heard a word from Joe Biden or the White House. And we’re eight hours away from a government shutdown. You know, this is why Washington is so broken. You talk about the fact that we got to this point of a government shutdown? Go down the hall in the Senate. Chuck Schumer passed exactly zero appropriations bills through the Senate floor this year.”
“I certainly understand what you’re saying,” Tapper replied. “But at the same time, with all due respect, Sir, you’re going after the top Democrat in the Senate and a lame-duck Democratic president. Your conference, the House Republican conference, we go through this every single time Republicans control the House. You guys can’t pass legislation. You can’t govern.”
Lawler objected to the host’s characterization.
“We’ve passed a lot of legislation that is languished down the hall in the Senate,” he responded.
“Government funding legislation,” Tapper shot back. “Every time, we go through this.”
Lawler again hit out at Schumer for not taking up the House’s appropriations bills.
“Senate Democrats are in control in the Senate, and Joe Biden is in control of the White House,” the congressman said. And by the way, again, I reiterate, where is Joe Biden? Why has he not weighed in at all?”
