GOP Whip John Cornyn may have spoken too soon...
Nothing firm still on when the Senate will vote on budget deal. Majority Whip Cornyn: If history is any guide, we'll be out of here this afternoon
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) February 8, 2018
With less than ten hours left for both the Senate and House to pass a bill to extend financing for the federal government, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is - once again - forcing a delay by objecting to certain spending levels.
The Congressional Budget Office just ruled that the spending deal would increase the deficit by $24.3 billion by 2022.
Paul has played the role of antagonist in the past, memorably back in late November when the GOP voted to pass a $4.5 trillion budget as a precursor to unlocking the reconciliation rules allowing Republicans to pass the Trump tax cuts through the senate with a simple majority vote.
BREAKING: Senate vote on budget deal delayed by objection to spending levels by Republican Senator Rand Paul - Sen. Cornyn pic.twitter.com/J412gVaJxQ
— Reuters Politics (@ReutersPolitics) February 8, 2018
...Meanwhile, Senate leaders have yet to begin procedural votes that were expected to begin nearly an hour ago...
Nothing settled on proposal for Senate to take procedural vote and then separate vote to approve budget deal. Hope was to begin process at 1:45 pm et. But nothing is agreed to yet.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) February 8, 2018
...and they can't say when that vote is expected to take place, because Paul - as Cornyn put it - "has concerns he wants to be able to voice."
Colleague Jason Donner rpts Cornyn says he’s not sure when Senate will move on budget deal. Says GOP KY Sen Paul holding things up. “Senator Paul has concerns he wants to be able to voice.”
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) February 8, 2018
Once again, it appears the bipartisan deal struck between Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell was too much, too soon. As part of the deal, the two agreed to extend funding through March 23 while lifting spending caps that were imposed as part of the Budget Control Act of 2011 (the famous sequestration bill) while tentatively working out a two-year budget deal that would increase both domestic and military spending, provide money for disaster relief, combating the opiate crisis and - oh yeah - raising the debt ceiling. The Treasury's emergency measures are expected to be tapped out early next month.
As we noted earlier, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is refusing to support the deal struck by her fellow Congressional leader because she wants to force a vote on an immigration bill to preserve DACA protections - the subject of a historic 8-hour-long speech on the House floor yesterday.
In a letter to her Democratic colleagues today, Pelosi accused Speaker Paul Ryan - who says he won't call for a vote on DACA without Trump's approval - of "demeaning the dignity of the House" and defying the will of the American people.
Pelosi letter to Dem colleagues: Speaker Ryan’s refusal to allow a bipartisan process for a DACA proposal demeans the dignity of the House of Representatives. It is also an insult to the American people, who overwhelmingly support the Dreamers.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) February 8, 2018
In the Senate, Democrat Elizabeth Warren is also balking at passing the spending bill without voting on an immigration deal. And the House Freedom Caucus
Without another extension - what would be the fifth since September - funding for the Federal government will run out at 12:01 Friday morning.
Meanwhile, the House Freedom Caucus is still trying to kill the deal struck by the Senate leaders.
Keep in mind, the Senate hasn't started their procedural votes yet. Once the bill passes the Senate, the bill will need to pass through the House Rules Committee before it can be brought to the floor for a vote...
House now in recess subject to the call of the chair, waiting on Senate to approve budget deal & send it across to the House. Bill will have to go the Rules Cmte in the House. Will take a few hrs before the Hse gets it on the flr once the Senate finishes it.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) February 8, 2018
With markets spiraling lower again Thursday, the budget process is rapidly transforming into a "damned-if-they-do-damned-if-they-don't" situation, because if it passes and widens the deficit...
Senate deal's 2 outcomes:
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 8, 2018
1. Govt shutdown and potential technical default
2. Spiking yields, sliding markets and more volmageddon
Comments
Shut it down, ill hardly notice or care. Good bad or indifferent I will say this about Trump , he has these Congress Shit bags actually working for the first time in years!.
Kick em right in the balls Rand.
Redeem yourself!
Cancel that bitch..they are not competent at serving the peoples interest...only theirs.
No more pay for them.
RIPS
In reply to Shut it down, ill hardly… by Bill of Rights
Who
In reply to Cancel that bitch..they are… by Deathrips
OT (but significant):
Israel Lobby trying to kill the Al Jazeera’s documentary on Israel Lobby in the US (like the one they produced about the Israel Lobby in UK):
https://qatarileaks.com/en/leak/qatar-12
In reply to Shut it down, ill hardly… by Bill of Rights
https://www.richardsilverstein.com/2018/02/08/israel-lobby-pressures-qatar-kill-al-jazeera-documentary/
In reply to OT (but significant):… by JSBach1
They sure love their theater. To all the low level Cointel agents who troll these sites and read comments:
These games are no longer working for you, because many people like me are onto you and know exactly what the agenda is, and guess what?
I'm telling others and once the message is understood by a critical mass, the entire narrative will be blown, including the one where we get a "Savior" from these "evil bankers."
Yes, I know the whole plan. Thank you for taking many years to do what should've been done much quicker.
In reply to Shut it down, ill hardly… by Bill of Rights
Fan of his dad. This is a moment where he catches my attention and approval.
Ron's ONE stumbling block, is thinking all you have to do is ask islamists why they want to attack us, and being oblivious to islamic taqiya - which means lying for the sake of islam. Troops do need to come home - but regardless of whether we're there or not - their ideology's structured around conversion by the sword and territorial conquest, and islamic foreign intervention.
In reply to Fan of his dad. This is a… by Pew Pew Pew
Just a quick question, Pew Pew Pew. Is your username supposed to be the sound you make when shooting at clingons in the toilet bowl?
In reply to Fan of his dad. This is a… by Pew Pew Pew
Way to go Rand. At least someone has enough moral turpitude to question the reckless majority.
Damn right! About time somebody at least try and stop this shit show.
Trump, Ryan, and McConnell are in a race to with Schumer to see who can spend the most......and the Republicans are winning.
Part of me hopes they get their spending bill and crash the whole damn system. I am tired of their welfare asses spending money that is not theirs on the backs of future generations that will never exist.
Now Trump wants a military parade? Why? So he can be like his hero Kim or Xi? What an arrogant dipshit!
In reply to Way to go Rand. At least… by Yen Cross
Yeah ~ SHUT IT DOWN! ~ So the FBI, CONgress, & the DOJ can go on paid holiday for a few months (at the taxpayers expense), for all the hard work they do! After all... Every person needs a holiday after a 2 decades long PIZZA ORGY... Don'y worry... OBAMACARE will cover your stint at the FAT FARM...
It is hard work deleting files, shredding documents, making sure the inbox, outbox, and file 13's are empty. Then checking to be sure they are gone and on top of that having to worry the NSA has it all anyway. All the while looking over your shoulder wondering when you name will show up on the wetwork list.
In reply to Yeah ~ SHUT IT DOWN! ~ So… by TheWholeYearInn
What if they shut down the federal government and nobody noticed.
i dont care if the military goes broke, NOT ONE MORE DIME TO KNEEGROWS!
" NOT ONE MORE DIME TO KNEEGROWS"
Never heard of that bank. Is it a subsidiary of Lendingtree ?
In reply to i dont care if the military… by sowhat1929
Yawn. Rand Paul and his 15 minutes on the soap box ...
we all know it's just part of his shtick.
What takes Rand Paul to get done in 15 minutes takes Nancy Pelosi 8 hours to do.
In reply to Yawn. Rand Paul and his 15… by curbjob
Oh no doubt he's a better bs artist.
In reply to What takes Rand Paul to do… by Bill of Rights
"The Congressional Budget Office just ruled that the spending deal would increase the deficit by $24.3 billion by 2022."
I think the CBO has the decimal point one digit to far to the left. Not sure how you increase military spending by $80 billion and domestic spending by $65 billion, annually and only increase the deficit by $24 billion. I realize that the budget deal is for only 2 years, but really do they honestly believe that congress would let the military budget decrease by $85 billion in 2022?
Can we install his father as a benevolent dictator?
Controlled opposition
Imagine if you ran your household like this??