“Rock around the Christmas tree”
Hop at the Christmas Party” – Brenda Lee
This is a Capitol Hill Christmas tradition.
The annual custom of swinging around the Parliamentary Christmas Tree, decorated with hundreds of Parliamentary ornaments, Advent budgets and mistletoe fixes.
Almost every December, the political Polar Express rolls through the Capitol. It’s always the last piece of legislation to come out of Congress.
What to expect from Republicans trying to avoid government shutdowns and save on spending
“Everyone get on board!” the conductor yells.
If you don’t put the things Noel needs in the baggage car of this train, you’ll be left behind.
So the members of Congress decorated their “Christmas tree” the only way they knew how.
As a result, just days ago, a massive 1,547-page interim spending bill was signed into law to avert a government shutdown.
The scope of this bill was breathtaking.
Want a hippo for Christmas? With this plan, you are sure to get it.
It didn’t take long for House Republicans to crush the bill.
The Christmas tree at the U.S. Capitol is lit during a ceremony in Washington, DC, on December 3. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The morning after Congressional leaders announced the bill, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) fumed, calling it “another tight squeeze.” “This is what you get: ‘Do this or shut down the government.’ So, it’s very disappointing.”
Rep. Eric Burleson (R-Missouri) did not gift wrap his criticism.
“This is a complete dumpster fire. I think it’s trash,” Burleson declared. “It’s shameful that while people are celebrating the launch of DOGE, we’re voting to add another $1 billion to the deficit. It’s ironic.”
Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) ridiculed his colleagues for being silent when it comes to spending.
“We keep saying we want to take the deficit and the debt seriously, but we keep voting to increase the deficit. We can’t have it both ways,” he said. “This is irresponsible.”
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) lamented that this is business as usual.
In other words, a swamp is a swamp, right? Roy said:
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to What Happened to the Interim Spending Bill
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said in the fall:
Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared on September 24: “We have defeated the Christmas omnibus. We are not going back to that terrible tradition. There will be no Christmas omnibus.” “I don’t do any ‘buses’ at all.”
So you really pressed Mr. Johnson about the promise after disgruntled Republicans in the House Republican conference denounced him.
“You said in September that the Christmas omnibus would no longer be aired. Are you no longer doing ‘Bus’?” I asked. “But why isn’t this a Christmas tree again during the holiday season?”
“Well, it’s not a Christmas tree. It’s not an omnibus,” Johnson replied.
Johnson is technically correct. In appropriation terms, this is not a true omnibus — although outside observers and many members themselves may colloquially refer to this huge bill as an “omnibus.” An omnibus is when Congress combines all 12 separate spending measures into one package. A “minibus” is a bundle of several banknotes.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) speaks briefly to reporters Thursday at the Capitol in Washington, just before voting on an amended interim spending bill to prevent a government shutdown. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Still, I reminded Johnson of his condemnation of the bill.
“They said they destroyed this cram school. They said it was garbage. It’s your members who are calling it that,” I pointed out.
Even though the bill took shape the night before, “well, they haven’t even looked at it yet,” Johnson said. “I have some friends who say that about their year-end fundraising measures. This isn’t an omnibus, is it? This is a small CR (continuing resolution) and we had to add to this.” Outside of our control there was. ”
The bill came with a hefty price tag to cover the entire cost of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Radiation pay increases for members of Congress. Medical regulations. Language regarding concert ticket prices. Emergency support for farmers. and $110 billion to cover damage from hurricanes Helen and Milton.
“It is intended to be, and until recently has been, a very simple, very clean CR stop-gap funding measure for next year’s unity government,” Mr Johnson said. “But in the meantime, some things happened. We went through an act of God, as we say. We went through a huge hurricane like this.”
But then Elon Musk put the bill under fire. President-elect Trump has called for an immediate increase in the debt ceiling. Debt limitation agreements are among the most complex and contentious issues in Congress. It will take weeks, if not months, of arduous negotiations.
Trump, Musk face conservative outrage over spending bill, House Republican leaders scramble over Plan B
This wasn’t as simple as giving Santa at the mall a wish list on Christmas morning.
The bill began losing supporters hours before the House was scheduled to vote on it.
But to paraphrase the opening lines of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol about Jacob Marley: “The bill was dead to begin with. There’s no doubt about that.”
The Democratic Party was stunned by the last-minute ultimatum from outside. Especially since Mr. Johnson attended an Army-Navy football game with Mr. Trump last week. Why couldn’t they discuss the contours of this bill?
“This bill was blown up by Elon Musk, who has clearly become the fourth branch of government,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, deriding the bill. “So who is our leader, (House Minority Leader) Hakeem Jeffries (D.N.Y.) supposed to be negotiating with? Mike Johnson? The Speaker of the House? Or Donald? Is it Trump? Or is it Elon Musk? Or is it someone else? ”
Mr. Johnson and others then drafted a sophisticated 116-page bill to fund the government. But bipartisan lawmakers roasted it over an open fire faster than chestnuts.
SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk speaks at a town hall event in Pittsburgh on October 20 (Michael Swensen/Getty Images)
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Florida, ridiculed Republicans’ insistence on adhering to the party’s “three-day rule.” This would give lawmakers three days to mull over the bill before voting. But Republicans were now rushing through the new bill faster than shoppers rushing home with their treasures.
“Did you print it? How many pages? What happened to the 72-hour rule?” scoffed Moskowitz.
The bill suffered an embarrassing defeat in the full House. There were just 174 yes votes, punctuated by an eye-popping 38 no votes on the Republican side.
Vice President-elect Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) claimed that “Democrats just voted to shut down the government.” “They’re asking for closure, and I think that’s exactly what they’re going to get.”
By Friday, a third bill had been introduced. And despite the complaints, lawmakers ultimately passed the bill. There was no need to go to Plan Z, which was made famous by the SpongeBob SquarePants movie. The House approved the bill early in the evening. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York took to the Senate floor late Friday night.
“Democrats and Republicans reached an agreement this evening that will allow us to pass CR by the midnight deadline,” Schumer said.
Critics of Bill 3 may characterize the entire process as a “railroad.” But it was the actual railroads that prevented the Senate from passing the bill on time. An anonymous Republican senator has put a hold on Amtrak’s board nominees. But once senators resolved the issue, the Senate finally joined forces with the House to block the shutdown around 12:45 a.m. ET Saturday, 45 minutes after the midnight deadline.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The slimmed-down bill included disaster relief and emergency assistance for farmers. However, in terms of appropriations, this legislation simply renewed all current funding at current levels. It was never a “Christmas tree”. The government only lasted until March 14th, so there is no holiday crisis.
Merry Christmas.
But beware of the Ides of March.
Chad Pergrum currently serves as the Senior Congressional Correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based in Washington, DC.
