Republicans backed into a corner following 'political disaster'

Republicans have pushed themselves into a "political disaster," wrote Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman on Monday morning.

In the site's morning newsletter, it explained that for a short time, Democrats were being blamed for the government shutdown, with the message being that they refused to fund immigration agents, who had already been funded last year in Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill."

Now, officials are taking off for the next two weeks, leaving no end in sight unless the House can somehow force a vote using what's called a "discharge petition." Punchbowl called it all "pretty remarkable" that lawmakers are abandoning the government while the Department of Homeland Security is still largely shut down.

The Friday bombshell dropped by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was that the House wouldn't vote on the bipartisan measure, which was unanimously supported in the Senate. There were enough votes to pass the bill with Democratic support, but far-right leaders in Congress refused to support it, so Johnson announced he wouldn't bring it up for a vote and President Donald Trump approved the plan.

TSA Agents have been among the victims of the decision. While ICE and CPB agents are being paid, TSA has not been paid in 44 days. It comes just a few months after this happened during another shutdown. Hundreds of agents have simply quit, while others are calling in sick to work, taking second jobs, or caring for children.

On Sunday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told GOP senators he was working with Democrats to see if there was something they could agree to, but previous funding measures had already been voted down.

A spokesperson for Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) made it clear that the Senate had passed the agreed-upon bill that they had made the deal over.

“Republicans shouldn’t look to Senate Democrats to fix their own internal caucus problems," said the spokesperson.

Indeed, the problem is not coming from Democrats; it's the far-right lawmakers in the House who refuse to support the bill until they get exactly what they want.

"The conventional view is that Johnson made a big mistake by not clearing the Senate bill on what would’ve been a large bipartisan vote. House GOP leadership aides estimate that the Senate bill would have passed with every Democrat and more than half of Republicans. GOP leaders could then shift their focus to reconciliation and renewing FISA," said Punchbowl.

The report said that Johnson didn't have much of a choice. Sidestepping his party and making a deal with Democrats is exactly what got former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) ousted by conservatives. So, if he wants to remain speaker, he has no choice but to continue to do whatever the far-right House Freedom Caucus members demand.

Republicans who are in swing districts are already facing an uphill climb for the midterms, and another record-breaking shutdown isn't helping matters for them.

Monday, the Senate "will hold a pro forma session this morning, the first of four over the recess." It's a kind of mini session that keeps the Senate open. It was approved by unanimous consent on Friday and "can't be changed easily," Punchbowl explained. But one option is for a Republican senator to try and ram through the Republican bill while Democrats are on the break for Holy Week. There will likely be a Democrat on hand to object, however.

The Senate has tried to explain to Trump that the bill they passed gives flexibility to fund ICE and CBP salaries, but it hasn't made a difference.

Despite holding majorities in the House and Senate, two of the longest shutdowns in U.S. history have occurred over the past year. The next two weeks, while lawmakers are on break, will force Republicans to face voters back home who are angry about long airport lines across the country and empathetic to TSA workers.

Trump could have forced lawmakers to return to Washington to solve the problem. Instead, he issued an executive order to pay TSA agents.

• george conway
• noam chomsky
• civil war
• Kayleigh mcenany
• Melania trump
• drudge report
• paul krugman
• Lindsey graham
• Lincoln project
• al franken bill maher
• People of praise
• Ivanka trump
• eric trump