With a government shutdown four days away, thanks largely to House Republicansā inability to stop fighting amongst themselves, far-right Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert thought it important to focus on their pet grievances on Wednesday.
Greene successfully used the Holman rule to attach an amendment to a short-term defense spending bill to reduce Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austinās yearly salary to $1. Austin, the first African American Secretary of Defense, was ādestroying our militaryā and had allowed recruitment to fall to ācrisis levels,ā Greene huffed.
The move was purely a stunt: She previously said sheād vote against the defense bill anyway because she objected to its inclusion of aid for Ukraine.
Not to be outdone, Boebert successfully inserted an amendment to reduce the annual salary for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness Shawn Skelly, who is transgender, to $1.
In a transphobic rant, she accused Skelly of espousing āwokeismā that had caused āsignificant harm to our military readiness and troopsā morale.ā
Democrats didnāt bother asking for a roll call vote on Greeneās amendment, which is almost certainly dead on arrival in the Senate. She still predictably gloated about it on social media afterwards.
While House Republicans managed to advance the defense bill on Tuesday night, as well as three other spending billsāpart of ultraconservative membersā demands to consider 12 individual funding bills rather than one sweeping continuing resolution to keep the government openāHouse Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has made zero progress on thwarting a shutdown.
He is reportedly planning to bring a short-term funding bill to the floor on Friday that cuts spending and includes border security measuresābut at least eight hardline Republicans are still vowing to kill it. According to Politico, they are Reps. Andy Biggs (AZ), Eli Crane (AZ), Cory Mills (FL), Matt Gaetz (FL), Tim Burchett (TN), Andy Ogles (TN), Wesley Hunt (TX) and Matt Rosendale (MT). Boebert is also likely to join them.
āWe are going to pass 12 appropriations bills before I will consider a [continuing resolution],ā Ogles said.
They look like a couple of howler monkeys
So I lived in Flores Guatemala, known as the jumping off point to Tikal and other Mayan ruins.
It is also Howler monkey central and you could expect to hear them howling away every day and night, especially in the rain.
Howler monkeys scream with emotion and passion. Politicians are incapable of being that earnest and honest.
Thatās insulting to howler monkeys.
you know why they have that stupid look on their faces? its because theyre stupid.