When Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) was elected as Speaker for the new session, it was not without concern.
Trump supported Johnson because he knows Johnson will do whatever Trump wants him to do, but there are members of the caucus that are holding firm on massive spending cuts, which does not seem to be on Trump’s agenda right now.
House members are getting very frustrated with Johnson because there seems to be no clear guidance on this.
Taking Too Long
From what I had read, the House should have already had the framework of the bill done, but that has not yet happened.
House members want to see that bill so they can start to process it and see where they can make cuts.
One GOP House member stated, “I think there’s a lot of frustration right now. They’ve been trying to be inclusive, but not every open forum they’ve offered is giving members the ability to say, ‘I feel like people are listening to me,’ because I don’t know that’s the case right now.”
Johnson had insisted that the House would be taking the lead on this to present a large bill they could ram through via reconciliation, but the Senate is clearly not on the same page.
For instance, Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) stated, “I understand the desire for one big, beautiful bill, but it just wasn’t going to happen. It’s too complex.”
And Senator Graham (R-S.C.), who is the chair for the Senate Budget Committee, says he is tired of waiting and the Senate will start to move forward with its own bill.
He stated, “It’s time for the Senate to move. Hopefully we’ll get started next week marking it up in committee.”
Johnson is already on thin ice with a lot of caucus members, and if he blows this budget, my guess is that we will start to see more pressure to have him replaced again.
Honestly, the GOP just seems like it cannot get out of its own way right now.
