The Republicans Have No Majority

Published

10 months ago

November 23, 2023

admin

Mike Johnson now knows what Kevin McCarthy was dealing with.

At the new speakers behest, House Republicans today relied on Democratic votes to avert a government shutdown by passing legislation that contains neither budget cuts nor conservative policy priorities. The bill was a near replica of the funding measure that McCarthy pushed through the House earlier this falla supposed surrender to Democrats that prompted hard-liners in his party to toss him from the speakership.

Johnson is unlikely to suffer the same fate, at least not yet. But todays vote laid bare a reality thats become ever more apparent over the past year: Republicans may hold more seats than Democrats, but they dont control the House.

Under McCarthy and now Johnson, Republicans have been unable to pass just about any important legislation without significant help from Democrats. The three most consequential votes this year have been the spring budget deal that prevented a catastrophic U.S. debt default, Septembers stopgap spending bill that averted a shutdown, and todays proposal that keeps the government funded through early 2024. More Democrats than Republicans have voted for all three measures.

Read: Kevin McCarthy finally defies the right

GOP leaders have struggled to pass their own proposals on spending bills, leaving the party empty-handed in negotiations with the Democratic-led Senate and the Biden administration. Like McCarthy before him, Johnson pledged that Republicans would advance individual appropriations bills to counter the Senates plans to combine them into legislative packages that are too big for lawmakers to adequately review. But in the past week, hes been forced to scrap votes on two of these proposals because of Republican opposition.

McCarthy surrendered to Democrats in late September after his members refused to pass a temporary spending bill containing deep cuts and provisions to lock down the southern border. When it was his turn, Johnson didnt even bother to try a conservative approach. On Saturday, he unveiled a bill that maintains current spending levelsenacted by Democratic majorities in 2022for another two months. He did not include additional funding for either Israel or Ukraine, nor did he include any policy provisions that might turn off Democrats. Johnsons only wrinkle was to create two different deadlines for the next funding extension; funding for some departments will run out on January 19, while money for the rest of the government, including the Defense Department, will continue for another two weeks after that.

The Louisiana Republican said that the dual deadlines would spare Congress from having to consider a trillion-dollar omnibus spending package right before Christmas, as it has done repeatedly over the past several years. That is no way to run a railroad, Johnson said this morning on CNBC. This innovation prevents that from happening, and I think well have bipartisan agreement that that is a better way to do it.

Johnsons decision to avoid a partisan shutdown fight seemed to catch Democrats off guard. The White House initially slammed his proposal, but once party leaders on Capitol Hill realized that the spending bill contained no poison pills, they warmed to it. Democratic support became necessary once it was clear that Republicans would not be able to pass the measure on their own. Conservatives couldnt even agree to allow a floor vote on the proposal, forcing Johnson to bring it up using a procedure that ultimately required the bill to receive a two-thirds majority to pass.

Republican hard-liners have been no more willing to compromise under Johnson than they were under McCarthy. The conservative House Freedom Caucus, which initially suggested the two-deadline approach, ultimately opposed the bill anyway. It contains no spending reductions, no border security, and not a single meaningful win for the American People, the group said in a statement. While we remain committed to working with Speaker Johnson, we need bold change.

Buried in that final expression of support for Johnson was the first hint of a warning. Conservatives have given the untested speaker some leeway in his opening weeks. Even McCarthy received something of a grace period; when the speaker negotiated a debt-ceiling deal with President Joe Biden, conservatives voted against the bill but didnt try to overthrow him. Hard-liners havent threatened to remove Johnson, but that could change if he keeps relying on Democratic votes. When McCarthy caved to Democrats on spending for the second time, he lost his job a few days later.

The former speaker and his allies warned his GOP critics that his replacement would find themselves in the same position: managing a majority that isnt large enough to exert its will. Im one of the archconservatives, Johnson told reporters before the vote, trying to defend himself. I want to cut spending right now, and I would have liked to put policy riders on this. But when you have a three-vote majority, as we do right now, we dont have the votes to be able to advance that.

Read: We put sharp knives in the hands of children

Johnson has now used up one of his free passes. The question is how many more hell get. In the coming weeks, the speaker will have to navigate a series of fiscal fights over funding for Israel, Ukraine, and the southern border. The bill that the House passed today buys Congress another two months to hash out its differences over spending, but it doesnt resolve them. Johnson vowed not to agree to any more short-term extensions of federal funding, increasing the risk of a shutdown early next year. The speaker will also have to decide whether to press forward with an impeachment of Biden that could please conservatives but turn off Republicans in swing districts.

In the meantime, frustrated lawmakers from both parties are racing to leave Congress. Since McCarthys ouster, nine members, five of them Republicans, have announced their plans to resign or forgo reelection. Many more are likely to do so before the end of the year. After fewer than two terms in the House, GOP Representative Pat Fallon of Texas even considered returning to his old seat in the state legislature, which Republicans have long dominated, before changing his mind today. The frustration extended to other corners of the House GOP. We got nothing, another Texas Republican, Representative Chip Roy, lamented to reporters yesterday. He shouldnt have been surprised. At the moment, Republicans in the House have a majority in name only.

Sports

Freshman Williams’ dramatic TD catch saves Tide

Published

2 hours ago

September 29, 2024

admin

Freshman Williams' dramatic TD catch saves Tide

Chris Low, ESPN Senior WriterSep 29, 2024, 03:12 AM ET
Close
- College football reporter
- Joined ESPN.com in 2007
- Graduate of the University of Tennessee

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Ryan Williams‘ only thought after he pulled in the most important catch of his young college football career was simple.

“I can’t get tackled,” he said late Saturday night.

In the open field, few defenders have tackled Alabama‘s dynamic freshman wide receiver, and it was his 75-yard touchdown catch — complete with an electrifying spin move and dash to the end zone — that helped No. 4 Alabama hold on for a thrilling 41-34 win over No. 2 Georgia at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

In real time, Williams joked the spin move felt as if were “in slow motion.” But when he watched it on the stadium’s video screen, he said it looked a little faster.

“I just had to do my part in helping us finish that game,” Williams said. “We’d come too far. Somebody had to make a play.”

In a game the Crimson Tide once led 28-0, they suddenly found themselves trailing 34-33 with a little more than two minutes left after a furious Georgia rally. Williams and quarterback Jalen Milroe didn’t waste any time answering. On first down, Milroe delivered the pass right where he wanted to, on Williams’ back shoulder. Once he gathered it in, Williams did a pirouette around Georgia defensive back Julian Humphrey and left a vapor trail down the right sideline.

“Man, when I first saw him, he was this skinny kid,” Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell said. “Then you got him on the practice field, and he’s been doing things like that ever since. That’s just who he is.”

As in the most dynamic true freshman in college football.

Through four games, Williams has caught five touchdown passes and is averaging 28.9 yards per catch. He also had an incredible 54-yard bobbling catch in the third quarter against Georgia to set up a field goal.

“He’s only going to get better, and the best thing about him is that he’s always working, always doing something to become a better player, the work in the dark that not everyone sees,” said Milroe, who passed for 374 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns.

Campbell said the poise on the Alabama sideline, starting with coach Kalen DeBoer, was never more apparent than in those final minutes when Georgia roared all the way back to take the lead after trailing 30-7 at the half.

“That’s the standard at Alabama, and it just filters down to the players, to everybody,” Campbell said.

As the Alabama offense trotted back onto the field, Williams said he didn’t need to nudge Milroe or even give a quick wave to his quarterback once Williams lined up for the play. Yes, he wanted the ball and knew Milroe would find a way to get it to him.

“Nah, I ain’t got to be a mailbox. He knows what’s up,” said Williams, who finished with six catches for 177 yards and now has six catches of 40 yards or longer on the season.

Clearly, there’s a budding connection between Milroe and Williams.

“He knows four plus two equals six,” Williams said, referring to Milroe’s number and his number, respectively. “I know four plus two equals six. The ball’s just got to go in the air.”

Even so, this is rare air for someone Williams’ age. He’s only 17 and doesn’t turn 18 until Feb. 9. He wasn’t even born when Nick Saban was named Alabama’s coach in 2007.

With Saban watching from his suite, as Alabama beat Georgia for the ninth time in the past 10 meetings, Williams was only one of two freshmen who helped the Crimson Tide continue their mastery of Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs.

Georgia, attempting to make another mad dash to tie the score, moved to the Alabama 20 with just under a minute to play. But on first down, quarterback Carson Beck lofted a pass to the end zone that a leaping Zabien Brown intercepted.

Just like Williams, Brown also wears No. 2, and he’s also a true freshman.

Williams said he and Brown were playing the “EA Sports College Football” video game Friday night when Brown called the winning interception while they were playing.

“So this morning I was like, ‘Bro, you’re going to catch a pick?'” Williams said. “And he was like, ‘Of course that’s what I’m going to try to do.’ Next thing you know, he’s got the game-winning interception. I was like, ‘Man, we called it.’ I was screaming. That’s how I lost my voice, because I was screaming.”

Milroe laughed when asked what it said about Alabama’s program that two true freshmen would make such a big impact in a top-five matchup.

“Recruiting,” Milroe said, chuckling. “Nah, one thing I can say about those guys is they work really hard, and I’m all about a guy working in the dark. I see them working on their craft after practice. I see them communicating, and they do a really good job constantly of trying to build and acknowledging that they’re not a finished product.

“I think that’s so important for our football team, just to keep on climbing.”

DeBoer and the Alabama staff worked overtime to land Williams, who was ESPN’s No. 3 overall prospect in the 2024 signing class. Williams had been committed to the Crimson Tide but decommitted right after Saban retired.

DeBoer said he has been impressed by how good Williams is after the catch.

“He’s doing it over and over again, getting the ball in his hands and making people miss and getting a lot of yards after contact,” DeBoer said.

Milroe added: “It’s what we do from here that matters, building on this. What we’re seeing now is all the work we put in this offseason, the way the coaches believed in us and then some of the younger guys we brought in. Just got to keep growing, all of us.”

Politics

Former deputy PM Oliver Dowden interviewed in election day betting probe

Published

2 hours ago

September 29, 2024

admin

Former deputy PM Oliver Dowden interviewed in election day betting probe

Former deputy prime minister Sir Oliver Dowden has become the most senior ally of Rishi Sunak to be interviewed in the official investigation into betting on the date of the general election, Sky News understands.

He follows Mr Sunak’s former parliamentary aide Craig Williams and former Downing Street chief of staff Liam Booth-Smith in being questioned by the Gambling Commission, the statutory body that regulates betting in the UK.

Mr Sunak has not yet been interviewed, Sky News understands, though “numerous people” including Conservative Party officials have been.

Tory conference latest: Maternity pay is ‘excessive’, Badenoch argues

A source close to Sir Oliver said the former senior cabinet minister is not and was never under investigation himself.

It is understood Sir Oliver spoke to the police to assist with their inquiries as part of their investigation into others. This is said to have taken place in early summertime and the officers involved were part of the Gambling Commission.

The inquiry – launched in June – is set to continue for another three to six months.

News of Sir Oliver’s interview, along with the seizing of “hundreds of documents” from Tory HQ by the commission, has emerged on the day the Conservative Party Conference opened in Birmingham.

Ironically, the Gambling Commission’s head office, on the fourth floor of Victoria Square House, Victoria Square, Birmingham, is just a half-mile, 10-minute walk from the ICC, where the Tory conference is taking place.

Sir Oliver was knighted and Mr Booth-Smith was awarded a peerage in the former prime minister’s dissolution honours, announced less than an hour before the polls closed on 4 July.

The commission is investigating whether bets were placed on a July election by people with inside knowledge – in breach of gambling rules – in the days leading up to Mr Sunak’s shock announcement of the election date on 22 May.

A source told Sky News: “The general election betting investigation is still ongoing. Hundreds of documents have been seized by the Gambling Commission from CCHQ.

“The Gambling Commission has also employed more ex-police as investigators to take the case forward. It’s expected the case will continue for three to six months.”

Asked if Mr Sunak has been interviewed, the source said: “I don’t believe so. Numerous people have been interviewed, in and out of CCHQ.

“Gambling Commission investigators have made numerous visits to CCHQ. Oliver Dowden was interviewed.”

What is the election betting scandal?

The election date betting scandal began in June when Craig Williams, formerly MP for Montgomeryshire and Mr Sunak’s parliamentary private secretary, admitted he was being investigated by the Gambling Commission.

Mr Williams had placed a £100 bet on a July election at Ladbrokes in his constituency just days before Mr Sunak announced on 22 May that the election would be held on 4 July. Based on odds at the time, he would have won £500.

“I put a flutter on the General Election some weeks ago,” he said in a post on X on 13 June. “This has resulted in some routine inquiries and I confirm I will fully co-operate with these.

“I don’t want it to be a distraction from the campaign. I should have thought through how it looks.”

Mr Williams, who admitted he had made a “huge error”, was dropped by the Tories as their candidate in the new seat of Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr but remained on the ballot paper, but was defeated, coming third behind Labour and Reform UK.

As the Gambling Commission proceeded, Tony Lee, the party’s director of campaigns, and his wife Laura Saunders, who was Tory candidate for Bristol North West, were placed under investigation.

In a statement on the day news of the investigation was first reported, Saunders said she would be “cooperating with the Gambling Commission”, while Lee took a leave of absence from his role.

Then Nick Mason, the party’s chief data officer, became the fourth Conservative candidate or official to be investigated. He took a leave of absence and denied any wrongdoing.

In a bizarre twist, a Labour candidate in the election, Kevin Craig, was then suspended by his party after betting against himself and the Gambling Commission launched an investigation into him.

Mr Craig, candidate in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, posted on X that he had “enjoyed the odd bet for fun” throughout his life.

“A few weeks ago when I thought I would never win this seat I put a bet on the Tories to win here with the intention of giving any winnings to local charities,” he said.

“While I did not place this bet with any prior knowledge of the outcome, this was a huge mistake, for which I apologise unreservedly.”

Then on 27 June Sky News revealed that Mr Booth-Smith, then Mr Sunak’s most senior adviser in Downing Street, had been interviewed by senior Gambling Commission officials and questioned about who knew about the timing of the election.

Sources emphasised, however, that Mr Booth-Smith was not a suspect and was interviewed as a witness and was “asked for help”.

Sky News has approached Mr Dowden and the Conservative Party for comment.

UK