The case passed easily, 314 to 177, with more Democratic votes than Republicans. The best thing about such a big vote is that it will make Mike Lee and Rand Paul look more ridiculous when they try to hold him back in the Senate. Also that McCarthy owes the Democrats so much. The Freedom Caucus guys are gonna hate this,
The closed rule – no amendments allowed, passed quite easily 241-187. There were 52 yes Democratic and 29 no-Republican votes. There may not be as many Dems in support when it comes to the final pass, and they’ll likely hold on, letting the Republicans go first, then determining how many of them will be needed to help pass it. . The House is scheduled to resume at 7:15 p.m. ET to proceed with the final passage.
The debt ceiling/budget bill crafted between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will hit the House floor Wednesday afternoon, in a blow to the Freedom Caucus maniacs. which encouraged the nation to default on its debt and to economic disaster. Their short rebellion failed, and McCarthy could get at least 150 Republican votes on the plan.
Most of the the drama was over once Rep. Tom Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, said he would vote the bill out of the rules committee. Freedom Caucus representatives Chip Roy of Texas and Ralph Norman of South Carolina couldn’t convince him to play spoilers, despite Roy’s histrionics throughout the day and his dire warning that “the conference Republican was torn”.
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What was torn apart was the control the Freedom Caucus thought it had over McCarthy. It was clear once the band members started downplaying their one big card: the motion to leave the chair. It only takes one member to get the ball rolling on ousting McCarthy from the presidency, and it quickly became clear that there was little appetite among the rebels to even try. Even Georgia’s “incendiary” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene will likely vote for the bill in the end.
The deal fairly effectively neutral the Freedom Caucus and limits the damage House Republicans can do by January 1, 2025. They can’t hold the debt ceiling hostage for the next year and a half, and they can’t close the government by refusing to complete the spending bills without doing serious political damage to itself.
From a progressive point of view, the bill is not great, and most of the progressive caucus probably won’t stand he. They don’t have to. There will be enough Republican votes and votes from other Democrats to pass the bill. From the point of view of political and economic stability, the bill is fantastic. He averts an economic disaster and neutralizes the Freedom Caucus in one fell swoop. In other words, Biden wins big.
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We have Aftyn Behn from the rural organization. Markos and Aftyn talk about what happened in rural communities across the country and the efforts of progressives to engage those voters. Behn also gives the podcast a breakdown of the issues that will make a difference in the upcoming election.
