Trump Forces Johnson to Kill Funding Bill

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has found himself between a rock and a hard place.

Republicans negotiated a spending bill with the Democrats that was, quite frankly, an embarrassment.

When Trump spoke up against the bill, Johnson was forced to back out of the initial spending bill and present a new bill that Trump supported, but more than three dozen Republicans did not, setting himself up for removal as Speaker next term.

Too Many Chiefs

When Trump was asked about the initial spending bill, he stated, “The most foolish and inept thing ever done by Congressional Republicans was allowing our country to hit the debt ceiling in 2025. It was a mistake and is now something that must be addressed.

“Meanwhile, Congress is considering a spending bill that would give sweetheart provisions for government censors and for Liz Cheney.

“The bill would make it easier to hide the records of the corrupt January 6 committee — which accomplished nothing for the American people and hid security failures that happened that day. The bill would also give Congress a pay increase while many Americans are struggling this Christmas.

“Increasing the debt ceiling is not great but we’d rather do it on Biden’s watch.

“If Democrats won’t cooperate on the debt ceiling now, what makes anyone think they would do it in June during our administration? Let’s have this debate now. And we should pass a streamlined spending bill that doesn’t give Chuck Schumer and the Democrats everything they want.”

I am sorry to say, it is foolish to think that the GOP will not get blamed for the debt ceiling being established when it is now clear that Donald Trump is the one dictating terms to Johnson.

I would also ask why you want a two-year extension on the debt ceiling suspension when you ran on an agenda of reducing government spending. Extend it for six months, even a year, but two seems quite excessive (Trump is actually now calling for the debt ceiling to be permanently eliminated).

My biggest fear is coming true right now, as we again have massive in-fighting within the GOP, and Trump and surrogates are now suggesting every Republican in the House that voted “no” to the legislation that Trump backed.

Members of Congress do not answer to the president; they answer specifically to their constituents.

If someone like Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) told his constituents he would be fighting for reduced government spending, that is what he needs to do, not cower because the incoming president is threatening his job.

Simply put, that is not the way this country works.

The controversy over this bill is exactly why we need single-issue legislation. The American people need to know exactly what is being passed, but the original bill was 1,500 pages with all kinds of goodies buried deep in the text.

As far as Johnson is concerned, well, I have no pity for the man because he is the one who made the promises being broken right now.

If he does not have the backbone to stand up to Democrats in negotiations, then he has to go, and we need our representatives to elect a House Speaker who can better represent We the People when they craft legislation.