Washington – Republicans will face a critical test of their unity when the Act on expenses, which avoids partial closing of the government and maintains federal agencies financed by September, appears in voting.
Marshal Mike Johnson, R-la., Covers the act for voting on Tuesday, despite the lack of entry from Democrats, essentially Weighing them to oppose it And risk the closure that will start on Saturday if the legislators do not work.
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Republicans will need overwhelming support from their members in both chambers – and some of the Senate of the Democrats Senate – to introduce an invoice to the desk of President Donald Trump. This is one of the biggest legislative tests of the second term of the Republican President, which prompted JD Vance Vice President to visit Capitol Hill on Tuesday morning for support.
“Cr will pass,” Johnson said on Monday, using Washington to describe a continuous resolution. “Nobody wants to close the government. We organize, making responsible as Republicans. Chuck Schumer and the Democrats Senate will do properly. “
The strategy has the support of Trump, who calls on Republicans to “remain united – without objection – fight for the next day when the time is right.”
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House Republicans have stated that the account will attract $ 13 billion of expenses outside of defense from levels in the budget year in 2024 and will augment defense expenses by $ 6 billion, which are rather flat changes for both categories compared to the overall highest line of discretionary expenses. The Act does not include most government expenditure, including social insurance and medicare. Financing these two programs takes place at a car pilot and is not regularly checked by Congress.
Democrats are mainly worried about the discretion that the draft act gives the administration of Trump regarding expenditure decisions. They are already concerned about the efforts of administration about sedate cuts in the Department of Government Efficiency or Doge, led by the billionaire of adviser Trump Elon Musk. And they say that the expenditure account would fuel the effort.
“This is not pure CR. This account is an empty check, “said Rosa Rosa Delauro of Connecticut, the highest democratic at the Committee for Menages. “This is an empty control of Elon Musk and President Trump.”
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The issuing of bills usually include specific funding directives for key programs, but hundreds of these directives fall out in accordance with the regulations, in accordance with the note issued by the Democrats Senate. So the administration will have more freedom to transform priorities.
“President Trump supported this whole year CR because he understands what is for him for him: greater power over federal expenses on winners and losers, and destroyed democratic states and priorities,” said the note.
For example, a democratic note stated that the act would allow administration to go away from combating fentanyl and instead operate it in mass deportation initiatives.
Usually, when it comes to keeping the government in full opening for business, the Republicans had to cooperate with the democrats to create a two -sided means that both sides could support. This is because the Republicans almost always have no votes to spend bills themselves.
This time, republican leaders strive to vote despite the democratic opposition. Trump shows the ability to keep the republicans in the queue. Last week he met with several of the most conservative members of the House of House.
Now the Republicans of the Chambers who routinely vote against expenses said that they would support this. The Freedom Caucus house, which covers many of the most conservative members of the Chamber, issued a statement of support, saying “as opposed to many years of abuse of this legislative tool by Congress, this CR is a change in the paradigm.”
»Read more: Yes, a closed government would have many real effects-just ask employees who will not receive payment Opinion
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., Is still a stop. He says he will vote not.
“It seems to me that deficits only matter when we are in a minority,” Massie said, asked why his colleagues did not listen to his fears.
Trump followed the mass in social media, calling him “a game that is in too much trouble.”
“It should be original and I will lead the accusation against him,” wrote Trump online.
Rep. Tom Cole, a republican chairman of the Committee for the Meritory of the Chamber, admitted that continuation of resolution was not the result he was looking for, but he said that it was time to end the series of brief -term extensions, so that the Congress passed to keep the government open. It will be the third for the current budget year.
“Congress has other things to do,” said Cole from Oklahoma. “This year he has a lot on a plate.”
Meanwhile, home democratic leaders came out strongly against him. It is less clear, as they definitely push members in the competitive districts of the battlefield to follow them.
“House Democrats will not be complicated in republican efforts to hurt the American nation,” said the leader of the democratic democratic hakeem from New York.
The Democrats Senate generally emphasizes patience at this stage, waiting for Republicans to dwell the bill before taking a position.
“No comment,” said the highest democratic senator Chuck Schumer from New York when he threw himself across the corridor in front of the Senate Chamber.
Despite this, several serial democrats criticized this agent. Senator Cory Booker from New Jersey said he was stunned, that the Republicans “were trying to tighten something that is their path or highway.”
If the bill moves to the Senate this week, the support of at least eight democratic senators will probably be needed to go to the transition.
“It will depend on Democrats on Democrats whether they want to give votes and stop the government from closing,” said the leader of the majority of Senate John Thune, Rs.d.
Democrats also introduced an alternative bill on Monday evening funding for the government until April 11. The Act can serve as a plan B if the effort conducted by GOP.
The expenditure account draft may also have sedate consequences for the Colombia district government. City officials expressed their fears during a press conference outside the Capitol on Monday, and the residents of the district later during the day the interrogation room and the surrounding corridor in which the legislators considered the rules of the debate for this measure.
The Act will limit the district to last year’s financing, although it already issues at the level of 2025 the mayor of Muriel Bowser, a democrat, said that the proposal would require a reduction in expenditure in the next six months, because the balanced budget has already passed and is in the middle of the tax year. This means that officials will exceed critical services such as education and public security.
The mayor also emphasized that the district budget for 2025 focused on increasing three priorities: public security, public education and economic growth.
“If the Congress undergoes this action, it will act against the priority, which we share President Trump, namely that Washington, DC, the best, most beautiful city in the world,” said Bowser.
