Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Negotiations over a short-term spending bill turned out to be more painful and prolonged than leaders in either party expected.
Why it matters: Agreeing to a three-month bill should not be this hard.
- The fact that it was might mean that next year’s big legislative fights – from tax reform to funding the government – will be even more difficult.
Driving the news: The text of the 1,547-page bill was finally posted after 6pm ET.
- All day, rank and file Republicans — and even committee chairs — grumbled about the process — and the policy. This bill is not popular with House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) right flank.
Zoom out: Johnson allies are trying to claim victory. They have an agreement to fund the government through March 14, just like they promised back in September.
- And it wasn’t a dreaded omnibus – anathema to the House conservatives whose votes Johnson will need in just 17 days to remain speaker.
- But it included a host of unrelated provisions, touching on football, Haiti, and China
- That made the back and forth feel more like an omnibus negotiation, even if the underlying legislation was technically a three-month bill.
WINNERS
- Farmers: Johnson can point to $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers and the inclusion of outbound investment restrictions on China.
- Storm-victims: There’s an additional $100 billion in disaster relief in various pots of money. None of it is offset.
- Haiti: Democrats won on getting a trade provision extended for duty-free imports on textiles and apparel from Haiti.
- The Commanders and owner Josh Harris: Don’t buy a corporate box at RFK just yet. The Commanders still need to ink a stadium deal with the city, but it’s looking good for a potential RFK kickoff as early as 2030.
- Maryland: Yes, they may be losing their football team, but the state got 100% authorization for the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The Federal government will retain the rights to any windfalls from lawsuits.
LOSERS:
- Maryland: They may have lost their football team.
- Africa: Legislation to extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act was not included. That’s also a blow to President Biden and his administration.
- Pharmacy Benefit Managers: They lost big on a provision to redirect spending on prescription drugs to health plans and pharmaceutical companies. It could get worse for them. Trump referred to PMB’s as “middlemen” in his Mar-a-Lago press conference on Monday.
The bottom line: Congress will undertake a similar exercise in early March to fund the government for another six months. Republicans will control the Senate, but their margins will be tighter in the House.
