Off the rails we are and that’s where we’ll stay. Lisa Murkowski tried to pull a real whammy. Basically, she’s okay if the other 49 states (well, maybe 48. Hawaii’s in the same boat as Alaska, being non-contiguous) get hit hard. She’s trying to work a deal with John Thune to see if she can exempt Alaska from the draconian BBB measures and the Parliamentarian said no way. That got the ball rolling. Trump didn’t jump right in at that juncture.
Two provisions added to the bill just days ago — and tailored specifically to boost Medicaid payments to Alaska and Hawaii — have been ruled to violate the Senate’s Byrd rule. That limits what can pass through the reconciliation process with a simple majority.
GOP leaders had hoped the Medicaid provisions focused on non-contiguous states, along with other Alaska-friendly changes, would be enough to win the vote of Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). She had voiced concerns over deep cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
That got Congressman Greg Steube all worked up.
And that was Trump’s cue to jump in and begin victimizing the Parliamentarian.
No, Steube is not correct. He’s looking to distract from the fact that the bill is badly written and a disaster on its face and the procedural machinations of Lisa Murkowski and John Thune did not work. It’s just one more slice of the same authoritarian pie that we keep getting shoved down our throats daily.
The Big Beautiful Bill is Bloviating Bombastic Bullshit and it is not coming together. It is slowly imploding as the hours go by. But I do enjoy the snide crack that Harry Reid is somehow sabotaging Trump from the grave. I’m sure he would take it as a compliment.
This boils down to dear leader and senate republicans being mad over having to follow the rules the senate imposed on itself. I remember doing something similar in elementary school.