History appears to be repeating itself this week as Congress has brokered an agreement on a massive year-end catch-all spending bill — something it has often done in recent years just before leaving Washington for Christmas break.
The move has some conservatives fuming.
Politico reported, “Congressional leaders have struck a bipartisan deal to push the government funding deadline to March 14 and deliver more than $100 billion in emergency aid for disaster relief, House Republican leaders told their conference Tuesday morning.”
Without action, the federal government faces a shutdown Friday at midnight.
The legislation could be released as early as Tuesday. House Speaker Mike Johnson has not promised the 72-hour review period before voting on it, according to two people who attended a closed-door GOP conference meeting of lawmakers, Politico said.
Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that negotiations regarding the continuing resolution to fund the government are ongoing.
“Obviously we’re getting closer to the Dec. 20 deadline, so time is of the essence for Republicans to reach an agreement with us that we can act on quickly,” he said Tuesday morning, according to Politico.
Schumer: By the end of the week, the Senate must also pass a temporary extension of government funding before December 20th, or else the government will shut down right before Christmas. Democrats have spent weeks working in good faith with our Republican counterparts on crafting…
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) December 16, 2024
Several conservatives have expressed frustration with the process.
“It’s a total dumpster fire. I think it’s garbage,” GOP Rep. Eric Burlison of Missouri, who is a member of the conservative Freedom Caucus, said.
“Sadly, this is happening again. I think that it’s shameful that people that celebrate DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency] coming in, and yet we’re going to vote for another billion dollars to be added to the deficit. It’s ironic,” added the lawmaker, who probably meant to say trillion dollars, given the legislation would fund the entire government until March 14.
.@RepEricBurlison on CR: “It’s a total dumpster fire. I think it’s garbage…Sadly this is happening again. It’s shameful that people that celebrate DOGE coming in and yet we’re going to vote for another billion dollars to be added to the deficit. It’s ironic.” pic.twitter.com/8Hpf3owunB
— CSPAN (@cspan) December 17, 2024
Fellow Freedom Caucus member Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, added, “This week we’re supposed to vote on a continuing resolution which will keep spending money out the wazoo for another three months because we can’t do an annual budget. That’s Congress’s problem.”
“The problem that goes with it, of course, is that we have a structural deficit that keeps a mounting national debt going,” he added.
The DC Cartel will attempt to ramrod a short-term omnibus through Congress in the form of a continuing resolution.
Members have yet to see the text of the massive spending package.
The House continues to be derelict in its duty to pass a balanced budget. pic.twitter.com/MbYOJoAEpj
— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) December 16, 2024
Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina posted on social media platform X, “We do this every year … the manufactured ‘government shutdown’ crisis so everyone can get everything into an omnibus or continuing resolution and taking us further into debt.”
We do this every year… the manufactured “government shutdown” crisis so everyone can get everything into an omnibus or continuing resolution and taking us further into debt…
DC never lets a good crisis go to waste…
It’s so TIRED and PREDICTABLE. https://t.co/yWYOizlsdV
— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) December 17, 2024
Sean Davis, CEO of The Federalist, wrote, “Stop calling it a CR. It’s a massive K Street Christmas tree omnibus with giveaways to every special interest in Washington, D.C.”
Stop calling it a CR. It’s a massive K Street Christmas tree omnibus with giveaways to every special interest in Washington, D.C. https://t.co/iy6C8p5PX5
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) December 17, 2024
The national debt is currently over $36 trillion, with interest payments to service it in fiscal year 2024 topping $1.1 trillion, which was more than the entire Defense Department budget of approximately $825 billion.
BREAKING: Trump says Elon Musk’s DOGE could potentially save $2 trillion by reducing government waste. pic.twitter.com/ikU4N0PBUh
— Leading Report (@LeadingReport) December 16, 2024
DOGE, headed up by billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, has set a goal of cutting $2 trillion annually from federal spending.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
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