As I write this note, the Senate still hasn’t come up with a plan to pass the so-called “mini-bus” bill.  The bill funds the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Housing, Interior, Justice, Transportation and Veterans Affairs for the remainder of the current fiscal year, which runs until October 1.

The bill passed the House on Wednesday on a strong bipartisan vote of 339 Yes to 85 No.  The vote demonstrates both a success for Speaker Johnson and the challenge he faces.  In this vote, 83 of the 85 NO votes came from the most conservative Republicans. This is something to keep in mind as Speaker Johnson attempts to steer the larger mini-bus bill through in the next two weeks, as that bill’s deadline is March 22. 

The first mini-bus bill now must pass the Senate and be signed by the President by midnight if a weekend government shutdown is to be avoided. The hang-up in the Senate is a group of Republicans who are insisting that $12 billion of the money, meant to fund 6,000 earmarks for Members of the House and Senate, be removed from the bill.  The Senate Republicans have a non-binding internal rule that earmarks should not be included in spending bills and a group of Republican Senators led by Florida’s Rick Scott are insisting that th...

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