MAGA lost, US won, for now

 

On Saturday, as the midnight deadline for shutting down the government loomed, wiser heads prevailed and a vote approving a 45-day Continuing Resolution (CR) for government funding passed both the House and Senate. President Biden signed this imperfect compromise shortly before midnight and a shutdown was averted- for the time being.

Many Federal employees, members of the military, and Federal contractors all breathed a sigh of relief at this news. The respite may only be for 45 days, but it allows the personnel involved to better plan. While Federal employees will receive retroactive pay after any shutdowns end, according to recent legislation, many temporary employees, or contractors, will not get back pay. Those who work in the cafeterias of Federal buildings, for example, often work for contracted food service companies and are not under civil service coverage. Their bosses may or may not give them pay for time missed or might require that they exhaust any leave if they have it, before they will be paid. As is often said, it is the little guy who gets hurt when the big guys tangle.

This measure passed with bipartisan support, although the negative votes in both Houses reflected the naysayers in the Republican Party mostly. The Senate approved it by a vote of 88-9. The full Senate was down by two members, with Senator Debbie Stabenow being out with COVID and, because of the recent death of Senator Dianne Feinstein.

The House vote was more nuanced. According to Axios: “The bill passed 335-91, with 90 Republicans and one Democrat voting against it.”

(The one Democratic vote was from a representative who has many Ukrainians in his district and who did not like the lack of funding for the Ukraine War in the CR.)

The 15-20 House rebels who helped push the Speaker vote to an unprecedented number of 15 rounds of votes in January are still rebelling against the Speaker.

Axios also reports that Congressman Matt Gaetz, who is leading this current move to take down the Speaker, met with a cool response when he approached Democrats. They also reported: “Gaetz said during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that he planned to file a motion to vacate against McCarthy this week.”

Estimates currently show around 200 Republicans who will support the Speakers in his quest for the vote minimum of 218 votes. All the math points to the Speaker needing Democrats to keep him in the Speaker’s position. Some pundits say that Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is waiting to see what bargains he can work out before committing. That used to be how bipartisanship worked. Members would support bills that the other side wanted in return for agreement on other issues.

Gaetz, for all his bluster, maybe walking on very thin ice as CNN reports that the House Ethics Committee, which had investigated him under the Democrats, quietly reopened questioning of witnesses regarding Gaetz’s activities this summer under Republican leadership. This bipartisan committee meets in secret and reports findings when they are ready. Some have said the committee is ready to oust him, based on their findings. (A recent FBI investigation into claims of sex trafficking, drug use, financial misdeeds, and improper behaviors did not lead to any known indictments, even though his best friend was convicted of those and other crimes.)

Speaker McCarthy is not out of the woods yet. He has to deal with his fellow Republicans and still craft a bill that puts back spending on Ukraine and other important measures. That will not be a simple task. He cannot afford to lose many members if members challenge him for his post.

According to the Economist:

“America’s congress stunned the world on September 30th by doing its job: passing a last-minute bill to avert a shutdown of the federal government that had seemed certain. However, the stopgap legislation came at the expense of extending American support for Ukraine and may prompt further acrimony. Kevin McCarthy, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, is facing a challenge to his authority from his own party.”

“For weeks Mr. McCarthy had tried to placate hardliners in his camp pushing for steep spending cuts and other conservative policies, such as stricter border enforcement, that had no chance of becoming law with Joe Biden in the White House. Yet with just hours to spare before a shutdown, he called up a bill that tossed aside the priorities of the far right and relied on Democratic votes to pass the legislation, which Mr. Biden signed minutes before the midnight deadline. Indeed, more Democrats than Republicans supported the bill.”

To further compound the woes of the Speaker, the former MAGA President spoke out on his social media urging the House to move for a shutdown. He argued that President Biden would be blamed if a shutdown happened, even though that was not the case previously when Republicans shut down the government under President Obama.

According to the Hill:

[the former president] urged GOP members to dig into their demands, arguing that unless they “get everything,” lawmakers should “shut it down.” 

“Close the Border, stop the Weaponization of ‘Justice,’ and End Election Interference–WE MUST HAVE HONEST ELECTIONS. It’s time Republicans learned how to fight!” [DJT continued.]

“DJT’s post echoes calls he made to Republicans last week to use the looming deadline as an opportunity to withhold funds from the Justice Department.”  

(Apparently, he believes his legal troubles will be delayed if there is a shutdown. That is not the case, as funds for Justice come from different appropriations, as do those for Social Security payments. So, Justice will keep on indicting the bad guys and the Cours will continue their trials.)

“Biden’s reelection campaign …called out the former president.. for these comments, arguing that …he is “rooting” for a government shutdown” and does not care about its impact on families.” 

In legal news, The Fulton County DA has her first guilty plea. Bail Bondsman Scott Hall, who at the urging of Sidney Powell it is said, went to Coffee County GA, and accessed voting machines with help from local Republican officials, pled guilty to those offenses. The Authorities expect this to be the first of several lower-level defendants charged with lesser offenses to take a plea bargain.

Meanwhile, the process for the other defendants moves forward. Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesboro are still on track for the start of their cases on October 23^rd or shortly thereafter. Kenneth Clark tried to get separated and have his case heard in Federal court, claiming he was a Federal employee, but many assume they will deny his claims, just as Mark Meadows was. (He was not acting under the definitions of his assigned job when he agreed to be named acting Attorney General or encouraged others to send letters to state election officials.)

And, as an aside, PBS reported a trial judge in NY stripped the former president of his business licenses in New York State after the state AG’s request for summary judgement regarding falsification of business records and more was honored. He vastly overvalued his properties, sometimes as much as 10 to 20 times their actual value. The judge referred to some of these claims as being in a fantasy world. The nature of his fines, the involvement of his company personnel, and his sons will be worked out in court this week in this civil trial. Reports are suggesting the costs to the businesses will be in the hundreds of millions. We shall see. For far too long, this man and his enterprises have walked away from loans, not paid contractors, filed for bankruptcy, and gotten rich on the backs of others. It is well past time for him to pay the piper, i.e., taxpayers, for his misdeeds.

Finally, I am giving you a link to the speech President Biden made at the dedication of the library for former Senator John McCain. In this, he calls out the excesses of the MAGA crowd and warns they will try to undo much of what we hold dear. I, among many Americans, was shocked when DJT called for the death of decorated Army General Mark Milley, who had spoken out against the former president. Part of what Biden said:

“These principles of democracy are essential in a free society, but they have always been embattled.

Today, let’s be clear. While we’ve made progress, democracy is still at risk. This is not hyperbole; it’s a simple truth — a simple truth.”

So, on that simple truth, I will close.

‘Til next week-Peace.