Instant Reaction: House Passes Funding Bill
08:31 Share

From the Delta Sky Club...

Welcome back, Ms. Klein.

Bloomberg Audio Studios. Podcasts, radio, news. We have just gotten the gavel. The House has officially passed this stopgap funding measure that will keep the government funded through March 14th of next year. The tally, 366 votes for this measure, only 34 against, not a single

one of those votes against came from a Democrat. Ultimately, it was the Democrats who provided more votes to get this over the finish line. 196 Democratic members voting yes compared to 170 Republicans. I want to come back to our political panel, Jeannie Shanzano and Lester Munson here. Lester, there were 38 Republicans who last night voted down the measure inclusive of the debt ceiling. 34 Republicans voted down this today with the debt ceiling taken out. It only changed...

Four minds on that front. What does that signal to you? Well, it also changed the minds of all the Democrats. Well, fair enough. Yes. And that's really the key here. And so Democrats are clearly – I take Jeannie's earlier points on this exact question to heart. Democrats want to kind of force the votes next year and maximize their leverage over these tax issues, which they are clearly going to be targeting. So you're starting to see –

The Democrats marshal their forces behind an agenda, thinking coherently about what that means, being willing to take some tough votes to get that done. And you saw there was, I think there was one present vote among the Democrats. So there's one Democrat who didn't vote in favor of this thing. So they have near total unanimity. They've got some real leadership. The question is going to be, I think, next year, can Senator Thune and Speaker Johnson

do the same thing that McConnell and Ryan did eight years ago when they really guided the president's domestic agenda through Congress. Can these new leadership members do something like that next year? It's going to be a real challenge for them. Well, so Jeannie, this is an excellent point that Lester is making, this notion that by and large, we do see the Democrats sticking together. And ultimately, whatever Hakeem Jeffries says is usually what goes. And I wonder if you think that is going to be as easy to maintain when they are actually

being asked to take votes on things like securing the border, something that was a weak spot for Democrats, frontline Democrats especially, in the last election and likely will be again in 2026.

Yeah, I think we've seen Hakeem Jeffries emerge as a very strong leader following, you know, the suit of Nancy Pelosi, who's also, you know, one of the best that we've had. And, you know, the reality is, is that he does have the respect of his caucus. And we've seen over and over again in almost lockstep to Lester's point that they do listen to his advice. And that bodes very well for him. It's not going to be easy, but I will say,

say it is easier, obviously, to be in the minority than it is to be in the majority. So, you know, it may be a different story if they took over the majority, but because they're in the minority, I think they will stick together next year. And the reality is, is that it is going to be so close next year that Mike Johnson is going to need them again. And that's not going to sit

well with people like Andy Biggs and Chip Roy and many others on the Republican side. And the question is, how does Donald Trump handle this? Particularly, how does he handle it when somebody like Elon Musk is controlling the largest megaphone maybe we have out there in terms of the Republican media? And when he shouts, everybody listens. That's going to be really fascinating to watch.

Well, Elon Musk's counterpart in leading this new government department of government efficiency has just posted his thoughts on ex Vivek Ramaswamy saying, quote, the last 72 hours highlighted the positive impact that Doge can have. But it also laid bare the massive lift ahead next year. We're ready for it.

Lester, both Vivek and Elon Musk aren't exactly ultra familiar with Washington. Do you really think they are ready for it? No, but I do like the way everyone is kind of dumping their hopes and dreams into the doge, right? Oh, this problem will be fixed next year with doge.

Oh, Doge has a huge opportunity. Doge has already affected things. Doge isn't really even a thing yet. It does certainly have some potential. Their real work won't be done for a year and a half. Will this still matter then? Will President Trump still have the same relationship with those two? That's a big question.

So I think it's mostly hopes and dreams right now, but it certainly could become reality if people actually sit down and look at it. Interestingly, there was a Tom Cole article in the Wall Street Journal this morning talking about they're going to have to look at entitlements if they really want to get close to a balanced budget. There's real truth in that, and that's not really something Republicans want to tackle yet. Well, when I was speaking with Congresswoman Beth Van Dyne just a moment ago, she was talking about how they said, yes, we're going to raise the debt ceiling, but we're going to cut $2.5 trillion in debt.

in spending in order to offset that. And Megan Scully, mathematically, that probably doesn't work if you're going to not be touching Social Security and Medicare. It absolutely does not. $2.5 trillion is more than the federal discretionary budget on an annual basis. So to put it in perspective, the Defense Department is creeping up to a trillion when you factor in emergency spending, and everything else is dwarfed in comparison. So

finding that means digging deep into entitlements. And that's when I think you're going to see, particularly House members and senators who are up for election in 26, really getting nervous because that, Social Security is the third rail. And there are a lot of weird rules about how we can legislate on Social Security and whether or not it can be part of this budget deal, whether it has to be dealt with separately. But it is...

you know, but when you're talking about entitlements, you're not just talking about social security. You're talking about Medicare. You're talking about Medicaid and you're talking about veterans benefits, which is something that lawmakers are very loathe to, you know, rescind. Well, but that doesn't mean that,

Ramaswamy and Musk might not recommend it, but at the end of the day, and Lester was alluding to this, they are not elected members of the U.S. government. They can only do recommendations technically. Have we not learned this week, though, that their words ultimately can matter to legislation even before they've made their DOJ recommendations? Yes and no, right? So

Musk has touted, look at the 1,500-page bill versus this 140 or however many-page bill it is and looking at the differences between the sides. The fact of the matter is the majority of that spending is still in there. And if that is what Doge is going after, that $110 billion for farmers and for disaster aid tells you something, that lawmakers were not going to cut that because that affects people's lives in their districts and in their states.

Absolutely. And Jeannie, we just have about a minute or two left here. But considering this is our last evening edition of Balance of Power of the year 2024, and we are ending it like this with a down to the wire vote, basically trying to avert a government shutdown that the Senate has to still act on, given everything that has gone down in this year. Does this surprise you in the slightest that we ended up in this moment at the very end of it?

Not at all, although I am thrilled that they did pass the government. It keeps it open. People can go home for the holidays, including you, Kaylee, who deserves a holiday and a rest. But, you know, this is the 118th. That's how it's been from the very, very start. And it has continued this way. I would say I want to be optimistic and say the 119th is going to be different. But mathematically, and this is a game of numbers, can't imagine how it could be that much different.

All right. Final question to all three of you. Jeannie, will the Senate be able to pass this measure by midnight? Yes, they will. Megan just explained it. Thank you, Megan. And Megan, your answer is still yes, I'm assuming. I hope so. We all hope so. Lester Munson, final word to you. Also, yes, but there's going to be some votes on Lee and or Rand Paul amendments.

Megan predicted that one as well. Thank you so much to all three of you for joining me as we have worked through this breaking news in Congress as we work to avert a government shutdown. Megan Scully, who leads our capital influence team here in Washington. Jeannie Shanzano and Lester Munson, my political panel this evening. Thank you so much again. The stopgap funding measure to keep the government funded through March 14th of next year has passed the House by a wide bipartisan margin. More Democrats putting up votes for it.

From hobby farmers to weekend gardeners and everyone in between, Tractor Supply trusts 5G solutions from T-Mobile for Business to make shopping more personal. Together, we're connecting over 2,200 stores with 5G business internet and powering AI so team members can match shoppers with products faster. You're all set. This is enriching customer experience. This is Tractor Supply with T-Mobile for Business. Take your business further at T-Mobile.com slash now.

In today's data-driven world, you need real data to shape an effective marketing strategy. That's where Ahrefs comes in. Ahrefs is a marketing intelligence platform powered by big data. It shows you exactly what your target audience is searching for and how you measure up to your competitors. Whether you're making day-to-day marketing decisions or defining your long-term digital strategy, Ahrefs delivers real-time insights that help you grow your brand. Head over to Ahrefs.com to get started.

That's A-H-R-E-F-S dot com.