Here we go again—another government shutdown looming, another continuing resolution (CR) to kick the can down the road. House Speaker Mike Johnson is betting big that Republicans can push through a 99-page bill to keep the government running until September 30, without needing Democrats to bail them out. And honestly, that’s exactly how it should be. Why negotiate with Democrats when their only solution to every problem is to throw more taxpayer dollars at it?
Of course, the usual conservative holdouts aren’t happy. Rep. Thomas Massie made it clear he’s not voting for the bill, calling it a “cut-copy-paste omnibus” and asking why Republicans are “punting again.” Fair point. Republicans have been promising to fight back on wasteful spending for years, and yet here we are, passing another CR to delay the fight yet again. But President Trump—who, let’s be real, is the only reason half of these Republicans even have a backbone—has called for unity on this one. On TruthSocial, he told Republicans to “vote YES” and hold the line until September so that his administration can start fixing the financial mess left by Biden. If there’s one guy who understands strategic battles, it’s Trump.
Rep. Ralph Norman, usually a no on CRs, is breaking his own rule this time. Why? Because he trusts Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to clean up the swamp. Now, that’s the kind of optimism we need in Congress. And let’s be real—if Democrats hate it this much, it probably means it’s the right move.
Speaking of Democrat outrage, their leadership is already melting down. Patty Murray and Rosa DeLauro claim the bill gives Trump and Musk too much power over spending. Imagine thinking that’s a bad thing! For years, the government has been burning cash on ridiculous pet projects and “woke” nonsense. If trimming that down means Musk gets to call the shots on efficiency, then sign me up.
The bill sticks to spending caps under the Fiscal Responsibility Act and actually cuts some non-defense discretionary spending. ICE is getting extra funding to cover shortfalls left by Biden’s open-border disaster. There’s also an additional $6 billion for veterans’ healthcare—a win that Democrats conveniently ignore while pretending Republicans don’t care about vets.
Predictably, Democrats are crying that the bill doesn’t “protect” Social Security and Medicare. But let’s be honest—what they really mean is that it doesn’t let them use those programs as a blank check for more socialist spending. They’re already gearing up for a fight to block extending Trump’s tax cuts, because nothing scares Democrats more than hardworking Americans keeping more of their own money.
So will this bill pass? That depends on whether enough Republicans remember that governing sometimes requires playing the long game. Johnson is rolling the dice, but with Trump backing him up, there’s a solid chance they pull this off. And if not? Well, Democrats will get their wish—a shutdown they can blame on Republicans, while pretending they had nothing to do with the fiscal catastrophe we’re in. Typical.
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