It seems that some Republicans are tired of their House of Representatives ‘leader’ and tired of Trump telling them what to do. This was great timing for something critical, and we should be nearly ecstatic for what they did. You’re appreciated, Raw Story:
House Republicans suffered a surprise setback Tuesday after three members broke ranks to defeat a procedural rule designed to block votes challenging President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. According to Punchbowl News reporter Jake Sherman, the House voted 214-217 to reject the rule, which would have prevented lawmakers from bringing resolutions to the floor aimed at undoing Trump’s tariffs. Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY), Kevin Kiley (R-CA), and Don Bacon (R-NE) joined Democrats in voting no.
We already knew Mr. Massie was a really good guy, even for a Republican, but I don’t seem to recall anything else about the others. And it would also be cool if we could figure out who brought this to the floor, because there are a few of them that always try to surprise us (and sometimes succeed, gahhhh). It would be someone interesting, we can be sure, but whoever it was could also be a surprise. My vote is for Moses MAGA Mikey Johnson. He always has Trump in his ear, after all.
“This will open [the] door to a flurry of tariff votes,” CNN’s Manu Raju reported Tuesday, noting in a social media post that Speaker Mike Johnson had expressed confidence earlier in the day that he had the votes to pass the rule. Fox News chief congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reported that Democrats now have legislation ready to move that would unwind certain tariffs. The outcome is “a major defeat for Mike Johnson,” according to MS Now executive producer Kyle Griffin.
Flurry is probably an understatement. Blizzard would be more apt. Yes, Mikey is unhappy, and having Trump scream at him would make it worse. He had a Very Bad Day. I don’t care. This procedural rule was a bunch of hooey anyhow. It was, of course, all about Trump and nothing, really, to do with their actual *jobs*. Apparently, most of the Republicans like to coast and don’t want to work too hard. Giving things to Trump is the easy thing. Working to keep Trump under control is too hard. Well, if they had done their jobs, it likely wouldn’t be that way. For now, we can breathe easy that the procedural rule failed because a couple of brave Republicans jumped the aisle.
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You don’t have to be a professional historian for this story to remind you of another “gag rule” designed to defend the indefensible: the congressional ban against accepting any antislavery petitions in the 1840s and 50s. Once as tragedy, and again as farce….
Add in a what the eff yew sea kay on top of that. This is more history than I wanted to remember but I can’t un-see it. 🙁