Well, well, well. Republicans and Democrats actually agreed on something for once. Stop the presses!
The Senate on Saturday pushed through a bill to keep the federal government's lights on past the midterm elections, avoiding what could have been a catastrophic October shutdown. The vote was a whopping 90 to 6 in favor, with Sen. Darline Graham of South Carolina voting "present," as Conservative Brief reported. That kind of bipartisan agreement in today's Washington is basically a political miracle.
Here's where it gets spicy, though. The Senate and House both approved their own separate stopgap spending measures, but they can't even agree on a simple expiration date. The House version funds things through December 4th, while the Senate wants to stretch it to December 11th. One whole week of difference, and yet somehow that needs to be hashed out before the fiscal year kicks off on October 1st.
But the real drama is lurking beneath the surface. The Senate bill temporarily blocks a Trump administration proposal that would hand political appointees more power over approving federal grants. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, came out swinging against the White House's own plan, saying she believes it would "politicize the grants process." When members of your own party are publicly opposing your agenda, that's a bad look.
Sen. John Kennedy from Louisiana fired back, saying he'll fight any long term restrictions on that grant proposal. Meanwhile, Democrat Patty Murray from Washington state is sharpening her knives too. December is going to be an absolute brawl.
The Senate also shot down an amendment from Sen. Ted Budd of North Carolina that would have allowed a federal prohibition on intoxicating hemp products to kick in by November. Senate leaders instead delayed that ban at the administration's request.
Now here's the provision that could blow the whole thing up in the House. The Senate bill specifically states that ICE and Customs and Border Protection won't get any extra cash under this temporary measure, pointing out that Congress already approved roughly $70 billion for those agencies earlier this year. Rep. John Rutherford from Florida called that a potential "dealbreaker." Rep. Jeff Van Drew from New Jersey said he wants to hear what the president thinks before committing.
The White House endorsed the Senate version with an official policy statement, urging every member of Congress to support it. Notably, they did NOT release a similar endorsement for the House bill, which left out several funding boosts and policy items the administration wanted.
Democrat Rosa DeLauro from Connecticut praised the Senate measure as a "clear improvement" over what the House cooked up, but still pushed for full year funding bills instead of these temporary patches.
So basically, Washington kicked the can down the road to December, when we get to watch this entire circus play out all over again. Can't wait.
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