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Texas Lawmaker Reminds GOP of Madison’s Words About Power of the Purse

By: Fred Lucas

For Rep. Chip Roy, it’s a frustrating conversation that happens all too often with fellow lawmakers on his side of the aisle. 

“‘Chip, we have a razor-thin majority. We just have to win the White House; we just have to win the Senate,’” the Texas Republican recalled in a speech Tuesday. 

When he hears colleagues concerned about the narrow 217-212 House Republican majority, he notes the Democrats’ narrow Senate majority—51 senators in the Democratic caucus compared with 49 Republicans. 

“Well, when do they ever look across there and say Chuck Schumer has a razor-thin majority?” Roy said of the Senate Democratic leader from New York. “When do they ever look and say, ‘You’re actually in charge of the House of Representatives, which James Madison told you in [Federalist Paper 58] actually has the power of the purse. Do something with it. Stop making excuses.’”

That prompted applause from the audience at The Heritage Foundation at an event, “Defunding the Left.” (Heritage founded The Daily Signal in 2014.) 

Roy had earlier quoted Madison—father of the Constitution and later the fourth president of the United States—who wrote in Federalist 58: 

The House of Representatives can not only refuse, but they alone can propose the supplies requisite for the support of government. … This power over the purse may, in fact, be regarded as the most complete and effectual weapon with which any Constitution can arm the immediate representatives of the people, for obtaining a redress of every grievance, and for carrying into effect every just and salutary measure.

Though the GOP mostly prevented nondefense spending hikes, and kept the political focus on border security, he said irresponsible spending is a bipartisan problem that “infests the entire swamp” in both parties. 

“The fundamental problem is not just the weakening of the dollar and the strength of our financial system. It’s actually the radical Left funding the tyranny, funding the government that’s at war with your way of life.”

He noted the Republican-controlled House approved $62 billion in funding for the Department of Homeland Security amid rising crime and fentanyl deaths in the U.S. resulting from the border crisis. 

The House majority also went along with $200 million to fund a new FBI headquarters and overall about $40 billion for the Justice Department, despite concerns about politicized lawfare. He noted $824 billion went to the Defense Department with no demands to scrap its focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion policies that are hurting armed forces recruitment. 

The House majority allowed $80 billion for the Department of Education; $9 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency; and $117 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services, while requiring no accountability for mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic by departmental subordinate agencies, such as National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

While his GOP colleagues often talk about the need to win the next election, Roy said, conservative control of both houses of Congress and the White House are not guaranteed to reverse the trend. 

“Literally, on Day One, they are going to say, ‘Chip, we can’t do all you want to do because we don’t have 60 in the Senate. You’ve got to be reasonable.’” Roy predicted. “I promise you that’s coming. So, we have to win majorities. But we have to plan now for driving a steamroller over the weak-kneed individuals in Congress that will use 60 [as a premise] not to fight for you.”

In the Senate, 60 votes are required to end filibusters. 

Roy noted there were some positive accomplishments, however. Since winning the majority, House Republicans have for the most part “kept the ball on our side of the field,” he said.  

Nondefense spending was largely held flat, while increased defense spending in 2023 was initially paid for by taking money out of the Internal Revenue Service and unspent COVID-19 funding. 

That occurred after then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., put caps in place, even though the caps were discarded in January. Further, Roy noted that House Republicans didn’t let Democrats redirect the border debate to one of amnesty for illegal immigrants. 

“Amnesty was off the table. All we talked about this last year was border security. We didn’t achieve it, but we didn’t allow the Democrats to start moving the ball down the field and have a debate about amnesty,” Roy said.  “It matters where you set the goal post and how you set your mission.”

The Texas lawmaker criticized the recent $95 billion foreign aid package that passed without the support of most Republicans. He said that too often, members of Congress “default to fear” on defense spending. 

“I want the strongest military that we can possibly produce. I want it to be sparingly used,” Roy said, adding:

I don’t want to use it often, but if we do, I want it to destroy everything in its path. But we just default to fear, and we use the national security-defense complex to run over everything else.

“People literally come into [House Republicans’] meetings and say, ‘We just can’t risk defense.’ Well, if that’s what you do, you’re never going to change the town,” he continued, “because they are always going to use defense as the leverage to say, ‘We’re not going to cut [the Justice Department]; we’re not going to cut education; we’re not going to make reforms.”

The post Texas Lawmaker Reminds GOP of Madison’s Words About Power of the Purse appeared first on The Daily Signal.

GOP lawmakers say MTG’s push to oust Johnson falling flat among voters

By: Elizabeth Elkind
House Republicans are telling Fox News Digital that GOP voters have not pushed them one way or another on ousting Speaker Mike Johnson, despite Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's insistence that the Republican base wants him out.

Before yesterdayYour RSS feeds

GOP Establishment’s Days Are Numbered

By: Kevin Roberts

The Republican establishment doesn’t know it yet, but last weekend was a watershed moment for their party.

On April 20, House Republican leadership facilitated passage of a foreign-aid package that sends roughly $60 billion to Ukraine, $26 billion to Israel and Gaza, $8 billion to Taiwan, and exactly zero dollars to the southern border. The bill has since passed the Democrat-led Senate and was signed by President Joe Biden.

The vote will be remembered for the choice Republican leadership made to brazenly reject its own voters in favor of the “uniparty” in Washington, D.C.

In a move that can only be described as “McConnell-esque,” House Republican leadership teamed up with Democrats to overrule the position of their own conference, their voters, and the will of the American people.

Democrats on the House Rules Committee made an unprecedented move by crossing the party line and overruling Republican opposition in committee, signaling an end to the typically Democrat versus Republican battle and the beginning of the conservative versus “uniparty” war.

The disconnect between “the Swamp” and small-town America could not be more profound. How can a political party be so tone-deaf to the plight of the everyday Americans suffering under inflation, crime, and societal rot?

How can a Republican-led House prioritize the borders of another country over our own border, even as American citizens are killed by illegal immigrants?

How can so-called fiscally responsible Republicans sign off on what is now $174 billion in direct Ukraine aid with a national debt of $34 trillion—more than $250,000 for every American household?

And how can House Speaker Mike Johnson, who had pledged repeatedly that no foreign-aid legislation would advance without first securing the border, so quickly be steamrolled by the Establishment?

In their desire to send billions of dollars to a conflict that our commander-in-chief has still, to this day, offered no plan for winning, the GOP’s leadership not only spurned their party’s own supporters but overlooked an opportunity to appeal to independent Americans frustrated by both political parties.

According to recent polling that The Heritage Foundation conducted with RMG Research, an overwhelming three out of four swing voters opposed sending any additional aid to Ukraine without also allocating funds for our own border. A majority (56%) of swing voters in key battleground states thought that the $113 billion the United States had already committed to Ukraine was too much.

The entire Heritage enterprise fought for over a year and a half on this issue. Heritage Action for America engaged our millions of grassroots members to voice their concerns to their representatives. Scholars at The Heritage Foundation presented a national security alternative package that included limited military aid to Ukraine but made border security the central focus. In an unprecedented move, we even issued a “key vote” on our legislative scorecard against Speaker Johnson’s convoluted rule, which was a gimmick that lowered the threshold to a simple majority (not a supermajority under suspension) and provided political cover for members to vote against individual pieces without jeopardizing the package.

Powerful interests were aligned against us, however, and we lost on the day. Though we lost this battle, all signs indicate that we are winning the war for the soul of the GOP. A majority of Republicans (112) voted against Ukraine aid on April 20. Younger and newer members are particularly fed up with leadership’s conciliatory approach and manipulative tactics that have led us to this point. The average age of the Senate Republicans who voted “nay” is 59, while the average age of those who voted “yea” is 66. The average “nay” vote has been in office since just 2016, while the average “yea” vote has been in Washington since 2010. The same dynamic was true with the recent $1.2 trillion omnibus spending bill.

This generational shift can be ignored by the “uniparty,” but it’s not going away. Newer, younger representatives want a choice, not an echo; and increasingly, they’re adopting a populist form of conservatism that champions “government of the people, by the people, and for the people” above all else.

In other words, they want a GOP that puts America first, something a government in any healthy republic would do. They want a GOP that acknowledges the reality that America is a nation in decline but is not yet too late to save.

As Ronald Reagan said in his 1980 address accepting the presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention, “For those who have abandoned hope, we’ll restore hope and we’ll welcome them into a great national crusade to make America great again!”

And that brings us to the importance of this year’s election.

In 2016, despite staunch opposition from the GOP leadership, Donald Trump rejected the Washington consensus and initiated a generational realignment in American politics. If the conservative movement leans into the politics and policies President Donald Trump made successful, the American people will again have the opportunity this fall to accelerate a new consensus in Washington, D.C. This is why I remain optimistic about the future of our great nation.

The GOP establishment’s actions this past week portend the end of the GOP establishment, not its survival. Conservatives will win the soul of the GOP, and with it, the hearts of the American people.

Reprinted with permission from The Epoch Times.

The post GOP Establishment’s Days Are Numbered appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Arizona House Passes Bill to Scrap 1864 Near-Total Abortion Ban

By: Katherine Hamilton · Katherine Hamilton

Arizona representatives voted to repeal an 1864 law that bans nearly all abortions after a few Republicans joined Democrats in passing the bill. 

The post Arizona House Passes Bill to Scrap 1864 Near-Total Abortion Ban appeared first on Breitbart.

Mike Johnson's Spending Bill Includes $300M for Border Patrol -- in Ukraine

By: John Binder · John Binder

A spending bill backed by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) includes hundreds of millions of dollars in American taxpayer money for border patrol agents in Ukraine as illegal immigration at the United States-Mexico border remains at record levels.

The post Mike Johnson’s Spending Bill Includes $300M for Border Patrol — in Ukraine appeared first on Breitbart.

Mike Johnson Surrenders: Democrats Seize Control of House Floor

By: Bradley Jaye · Bradley Jaye

In a stunning historical development, Democrats seized upon a Republican surrender to take control of the agenda of the House floor.

The post Mike Johnson Surrenders: Democrats Seize Control of House Floor appeared first on Breitbart.

Johnson Rejects Call for Resignation, Says MTG’s Massie-Backed Motion to Vacate Is ‘Absurd’

By: Nick Gilbertson · Nick Gilbertson

A defiant House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) declared Tuesday at a press conference he would not resign after being urged to do so by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who is now cosponsoring Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) motion to oust him from the speakership.

The post Johnson Rejects Call for Resignation, Says MTG’s Massie-Backed Motion to Vacate Is ‘Absurd’ appeared first on Breitbart.

Johnson Vows Not to Resign, as Second GOP Lawmaker Announces Support for Ouster

By: Jarrett Stepman

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., announced on social media Tuesday that he’s co-sponsoring a motion to vacate the chair against House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

In doing so, Massie joined the motion to vacate push against Johnson launched by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., in March. Massie is the first other Republican to back Greene in the effort.

“I just told Mike Johnson in conference that I’m co-sponsoring the Motion to Vacate that was introduced by [Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene],” Massie wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “He should pre-announce his resignation (as Boehner did), so we can pick a new Speaker without ever being without a GOP Speaker.” That’s a reference to another former House speaker, Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio.

I just told Mike Johnson in conference that I’m cosponsoring the Motion to Vacate that was introduced by @RepMTG.

He should pre-announce his resignation (as Boehner did), so we can pick a new Speaker without ever being without a GOP Speaker.

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) April 16, 2024

Johnson, according to NBC’s Jake Sherman, said that he’s not resigning.

“I am not resigning. And it is in my view an absurd notion that someone would bring a vacate motion when we are simply here trying to do our jobs,” Johnson said.

.@SpeakerJohnson responds: "I am not resigning. And it is in my view an absurd notion that someone would bring a vacate motion when we are simply here trying to do our jobs." https://t.co/XAwQWDanh5

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) April 16, 2024

Johnson—who became the speaker after the ouster of his predecessor as speaker, former Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., by a motion to vacate in October—has been facing increasing pressure from conservatives in the House. In particular, Johnson has been criticized for working with Democrats on a bill to fund the Ukraine war effort.

Johnson continues to receive the support of former President Donald Trump. Trump said on Friday that Johnson is doing a “very good job” when the two appeared together at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida on Friday.

“I stand with the speaker,” Trump said.

Johnson was elected House speaker in October with 220 Republicans supporting him. Johnson’s election came after McCarthy was removed as speaker after eight Republicans and all Democrats voted against him.

Since Johnson became speaker, McCarthy and Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., resigned and left Congress. Former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., was expelled in a House vote, and Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., will resign effective on Friday. After Gallagher leaves office, there will be 217 Republicans and 213 Democrats, a razor-thin Republican majority.

The post Johnson Vows Not to Resign, as Second GOP Lawmaker Announces Support for Ouster appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Trump’s last GOP rival lands new gig after failed 2024 presidential bid

By: Paul Steinhauser
Nikki Haley, who was the final rival to former President Trump for the Republican nomination before ending her White House bid last month, is joining a leading conservative think tank known for focusing on international affairs and national security.

Republicans Rally Behind Israel after Iranian Attack

By: Elizabeth Weibel · Elizabeth Weibel

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) were among the Republicans to issue statements in support of Israel after Iran launched long-range drones.

The post Republicans Rally Behind Israel after Iranian Attack appeared first on Breitbart.

Arizona Republicans Block Effort to Repeal 1864 Near-Total Abortion Ban

By: Katherine Hamilton · Katherine Hamilton

Arizona Republicans stalled an effort on Wednesday to vote on a bill that would repeal a near-total ban on abortion from 1864, which the Arizona Supreme Court ruled this week is "enforceable."

The post Arizona Republicans Block Effort to Repeal 1864 Near-Total Abortion Ban appeared first on Breitbart.

Exclusive: Rep. Victoria Spartz Rips Biden: 'How Can You Fail So Badly at Everything?'

By: Bradley Jaye · Bradley Jaye

Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN) joined Breitbart News Saturday on SiriusXM just days after President Joe Biden pressured Israel for an immediate ceasefire in the war against Hamas as the president continues losing ground in national polling amid crises at home and abroad.

The post Exclusive: Rep. Victoria Spartz Rips Biden: ‘How Can You Fail So Badly at Everything?’ appeared first on Breitbart.

House GOP Ukraine skeptics draw battle lines ahead of funding fight

By: Elizabeth Elkind
House Freedom Caucus Republicans and their allies are staking out their positions on U.S. funding for Ukraine after Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., signaled the issue would come up in the next several weeks.

Nebraska Democrat Censured for Pro-Life Views Before Switching to Republican Party

By: Katherine Hamilton · Katherine Hamilton

The Nebraska Democrat party censured State Sen. Mike McDonnell on March 2 for his pro-life views and his refusal to comply with the transgender activist agenda, before he ultimately switched to the Republican Party on Wednesday.

The post Nebraska Democrat Censured for Pro-Life Views Before Switching to Republican Party appeared first on Breitbart.

DHS Chief Mayorkas Pressed to Answer How Terrorists Were Reportedly Freed into U.S.

By: John Binder · John Binder

Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee are pressing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to explain how migrants on the federal government's "Terrorist Watch List" have been reportedly released into the United States. 

The post DHS Chief Mayorkas Pressed to Answer How Terrorists Were Reportedly Freed into U.S. appeared first on Breitbart.

REVOLTING: Crybaby Journos Give NBC Brass the Bird

By: Deroy Murdock

Ronna Romney McDaniel was with MSNBC for just four days. Sharing airwaves with the former Republican National Committee chairwoman was more than her colleagues could bear. They curled their lips, as if she had the cooties.

“It goes without saying that she will not be a guest on ‘Morning Joe’ in her capacity as a paid contributor,” Mika Brzezinski huffed.

Rachel Maddow snarled, “I find the decision to put her on the payroll inexplicable.”

After McDaniel’s only appearance as a contributor, Chuck Todd growled at “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker: “I think our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation.”

MSNBC’s anchors gave their brass the bird, turned them into plucked peacocks, and tossed them into the Potomac. The emasculated executives soon took on water.

“No organization, particularly a newsroom, can succeed unless it is cohesive and aligned,” gasped NBCUniversal’s Cesar Conde, extolling groupthink rather than intellectual diversity.

“I want to personally apologize to our team members who felt we let them down,” Conde gurgled, just before he sank into the river.

MSNBC’s mutiny was the newsroom equivalent of what too often befalls conservative speakers on college campuses.

“Cancel him!”

“Boot her!”

“SHUT UP!”

The only thing missing at MSNBC was a mob of black-clad bookers breaking cameras and setting makeup rooms ablaze.

As a news organization, MSNBC botched a perfect opportunity. Several times each week, in an election year, its hosts could have put cameras in McDaniel’s face and asked her tough questions on live TV:

  • “Donald Trump faces almost 90 criminal charges. Wouldn’t just one conviction disqualify him among millions of voters?”
  • “How will Trump narrow Joe Biden’s widening fundraising advantage?”

Why focus solely on Trump? MSNBC could have grilled McDaniel like a salmon across GOP-related topics:

  • “Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wants House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to stand down. Do you agree?”
  • “The House Republicans’ five-vote majority will dwindle to just one, thanks to their expelling Rep. George Santos of New York before his corruption trial even began. Also, California’s Kevin McCarthy, Colorado’s Ken Buck, Ohio’s Bill Johnson, and (soon) Wisconsin’s Mike Gallagher fled the ball field and drove home in the sixth inning. Do Republicans relish defeat or has their gender-affirming care backfired?”

MSNBC staffers could have interrogated McDaniel, and she would have had to take it. Unlike her old job, she could not say, “No comment,” and then hide in her office (which was not her style). McDaniel could have fulfilled her contract and faced on-air questions or clammed up and surrendered her reported $300,000 annual salary.

Turn the tables: Imagine that Fox News Channel hired Biden’s former climate czar John Kerry. Rather than implode on camera, my Fox News colleagues eagerly would ask Kerry such questions as:

  • “Why did Biden ignore his military advisers and close Bagram Airport before fleeing Afghanistan?”
  • “When you repeatedly huddled with Iran’s ayatollahs in the Trump years, weren’t you violating the Logan Act?”
  • “When the now-deceased Henry Kissinger negotiated the Paris Peace Accords in 1972, you advised the North Vietnamese delegation in person on how to outbargain America’s secretary of state. Why, sir, should you not be arrested for treason the moment you exit this studio?”

Nothing analogous will face the ex-chief of the RNC because NBC = DNC.

John Chancellor and David Brinkley must be revolving in their graves.

Rather than crumple like aluminum foil, NBC’s brass should have sacked their insolent, insubordinate “talent.” Ambitious journalists from newsrooms across America would have leapt to replace them.

Brzezinski, Maddow, and Todd are all replaceable. Especially Todd.

The Daily Signal publishes a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Heritage Foundation.

The post REVOLTING: Crybaby Journos Give NBC Brass the Bird appeared first on The Daily Signal.

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