News
‘Sick’: Dems Slam Johnson’s Refusal to Negotiate as Government Hurls Toward Shutdown
Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson reportedly plans to bring a third spending bill to the House floor for a vote on Friday morning, just hours before an increasingly likely federal government shutdown at midnight. The bill must pass in the House, clear the Senate, and be signed into law by President Joe Biden to avert a shutdown, which would come just days before Christmas as Congress plans to leave D.C. for its holiday recess.
Given Johnson’s razor-thin majority, he will need votes from Democrats, who are furious over his refusal to negotiate with them. As CBS News’ Scott MacFarlane reports, “Democratic votes are needed – no matter what — to avoid a shutdown.”
On Thursday night, 38 Republicans refused to vote for the House GOP’s bill.
Axios’s Andrew Solender reports that Democrats are saying the problem “is not just that [Republicans] killed the original deal – though that’s a big one – but that they’re negotiating with themselves. ‘They keep trying to guess what Dems will vote for, they should just talk to the Democratic Leader,’ says a senior House Dem[ocrat].”
RELATED: ‘Hell No!’: Democrats ‘Unified’ Against Reworked Funding Bill More Favorable to Trump
Thursday evening, Speaker Johnson and House Republicans were warned they needed to include Democrats in their negotiations to keep the government open.
“You know, denial is not just a river in Egypt,” began U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), known for his often sarcastic remarks.
“Let’s talk about the last two years. It was the Democrats who raised the debt ceiling, not the Republicans last time. Many of you voted against it. It was the Democrats who kept open the government, not once, not twice, but every single time we needed to keep the government open, it was the Democrats who kept the government open. More of us voted for it than you.”
“And all I’ve heard for the last couple of weeks about is this giant mandate landslide trifecta,” Moskowitz continued. “Put on your big boy pants, pass your own bill.”
“We’re only here because you guys can’t agree amongst yourselves,” he added, to applause. “Democrats will keep government open for the American people. We will mediate the disagreements between that side of the room and that side of the room — we will do that for you, but you’ve got to at least invite us to that meeting. So if you want us to solve your problem because you can’t agree amongst yourselves, reach out.”
Far right Florida Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, who tried on Thursday to blame Democrats for any possible shutdown, on Friday morning got in front of the cameras and vowed there will be no negotiations with Democrats.
After denouncing Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer with some colorful language, Rep. Luna declared, “there’ll be no deals with the Democrats,” and “we’re not cutting deals with Democrats.”
READ MORE: Trump Orders Senate GOP to Not ‘Fast-Track’ Confirmations — Will Some Nominees Change?
U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), responding to Rep. Luna’s remarks, exclaimed: “So bipartisan means… 2 parties worked together. Unilaterally a bipartisan deal was scrapped, but Nevermind.” She added: “THEY said they weren’t working with us.”
U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, the House Democratic Minority Whip, declared: “We’re 15 hours away from a government shutdown that would devastate everyday Americans. Troops will be forced to serve without pay. Families will be stripped of food assistance. Travelers will face disruptions — right before the holidays. This is not a game, @HouseGOP.”
Aaron Fritschner, Deputy Chief of Staff for U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), warned, “Republicans are mathematically and procedurally incapable of funding the government on their own without Democratic votes. This was true when they took the majority and will be true next year. When they refuse to deal with us, they are posturing and messaging, not legislating.”
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) excoriated House Republicans for refusing to negotiate with Democrats: “Democrats control the White House and Senate. You’re just for a shutdown if your position is that you won’t negotiate. They are getting ready to cut off pay for our troops at Christmas. Just sick.”
Watch Rep. Moskowitz’s remarks below or at this link.
Moskowitz: All I’ve heard for the last couple weeks about this giant mandate, landslide, trifecta, put on your big boy pants. Pass your own bill. We’re only here because you guys can’t agree among yourselves. pic.twitter.com/KpfgAAJX1A
— Acyn (@Acyn) December 19, 2024
RELATED: Trump Threatens Shutdown, Says Biden Will Be Blamed
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.
NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.
Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.
 |
Prominent podcaster Joe Rogan warned that the handling of the Epstein files “looks terrible” for President Donald Trump and his administration.
“During Tuesday and Thursday’s episodes, Rogan criticized redactions the Department of Justice made from the files,” The Hill reported.
“Who knows what f — — happens with all this Epstein files s — —,” he said, according to video of his streaming show. “It just keeps getting crazier and crazier and crazier and deeper and deeper.”
“Why would your name be redacted if you’re not a victim?” Rogan also asked. “Like, this is what’s crazy about all this. Like, how come you redact some people and you don’t redact other people?”
READ MORE: Far Right Extremist Leader Puts Trump on Notice Over Epstein Files
“Like, what is this?” the podcaster continued. “This is not good. None of this is good for this administration. It looks f — — terrible. It looks terrible. It looks terrible for Trump when he was saying that none of this was real. This is all a hoax. This is not a hoax. Like, did you not know?”
“Maybe he didn’t know if you want to be charitable? But this is definitely not a hoax. And if you’ve got redacted people’s names, and these people aren’t victims, you’re not protecting the victim. So what are you doing?”
“And how come all this s — — is not released?” Rogan asked.
READ MORE: ‘No Going Back’: Report Warns Post-MAGA America Will Never Be the Same
Far-right extremist livestreamer Nick Fuentes — who leads a “Groyper” following of mostly young men and brands himself “America First” — is putting President Donald Trump on notice ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
“I won’t even consider voting in the midterms unless the Epstein Files are fully unredacted, mass deportations resume, and we don’t go to war with Iran,” wrote Fuentes, who has 1.2 million followers on the X social media platform.
Some of Trump’s MAGA allies were furious this week as Attorney General Pam Bondi deflected numerous questions in a congressional hearing on that very topic.
Even before Bondi’s widely-criticized performance, Fuentes had called for her impeachment.
READ MORE: Trump’s Pardon ‘Blizzard’ Grows With Clemency for Five Former NFL Players
“Pam Bondi needs to be impeached,” he said on his February 9 Rumble show, “America First,” as The Daily Beast reported. “You lied about the existence of the files. You lied about unindicted collaborators and accomplices.”
Fuentes has been described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a “white nationalist,” an “admirer of fascists,” and someone who “frequently relies on antisemitic tropes.”
According to the Anti-Defamation League, “Fuentes has used his platforms to make numerous antisemitic, racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments,” and spreads “white supremacist propaganda.”
President Trump “has not condemned Fuentes,” and Vice President JD Vance “has only criticized him for attacking his wife,” The Week reported last month. “But Vance also appears keen to avoid alienating young Fuentes supporters, who could help him secure the GOP presidential nomination in 2028.”
READ MORE: ‘No Going Back’: Report Warns Post-MAGA America Will Never Be the Same
Image via Reuters
President Donald Trump issued another batch of pardons on Thursday, granting clemency to five former NFL players — the latest in what the Cato Institute has labeled a “blizzard” of pardons.
Trump’s pardon czar Alice Marie Johnson praised the move, which covers cases including those involving drug-related offenses and perjury convictions, according to The Guardian,
“Today, the President granted pardons to five former NFL players—Joe Klecko, Nate Newton, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry, and the late great Dr. Billy Cannon,” wrote Johnson. “As football reminds us, excellence is built on grit, grace, and the courage to rise again. So is our nation.”
Johnson went on to applaud the president “for his continued commitment to second chances.”
“Mercy changes lives,” she added.
READ MORE: ‘No Going Back’: Report Warns Post-MAGA America Will Never Be the Same
The Cato Institute on Wednesday had said the scope and magnitude of Trump’s “blizzard” of pardons are “unprecedented.”
Before this latest round of pardons, Trump had issued 166 pardons — plus the mass pardons of about 1,500 people convicted on charges in connection with January 6 — since taking office just over one year ago. By comparison, President Joe Biden in four years issued 80 pardons.
“In other words,” Cato’s Dan Greenberg wrote, “even putting aside the rioters’ collective pardon, Trump is now issuing pardons at eight times the rate Biden did.”
READ MORE: ‘Political Stunt’: Trump Admin Rages After NYC Re-Raises Pride Flag at Stonewall
Greenberg put Trump’s pardons into several categories.
He noted that Biden’s pardons eliminated about $680,000 in penalties owed to victims or the federal government, whereas Trump’s pardons have wiped away about $1.5 billion.
Greenberg also said that “Trump has normalized the pardoning of disgraced politicians, such as former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez (who orchestrated a spree of state-sponsored drug trafficking leading to a 45-year prison term),” and others, such as Nevada legislator Michele Fiore, Virginia sheriff Scott Jenkins, Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada, and Arkansas legislator Jeremy Hutchinson.
Other concerns Greenberg noted are that aspects of some of Trump’s pardons “set off alarm bells for self-corruption—either of the president or of his associates.”
Finally, “Trump has increasingly focused on providing pardons to his campaign supporters who stretched or broke the law, such as John Eastman, Rudy Giuliani, and Jenna Ellis.”
READ MORE: ‘Politically Toxic’: Voters Say Biden Was Better Than Trump
Image via Reuters
Rogan on Epstein Files: ‘Looks Terrible’ for Trump
Far Right Extremist Leader Puts Trump on Notice Over Epstein Files
Trump’s Pardon ‘Blizzard’ Grows With Clemency for Five Former NFL Players
‘No Going Back’: Report Warns Post-MAGA America Will Never Be the Same
‘Political Stunt’: Trump Admin Rages After NYC Re-Raises Pride Flag at Stonewall
News3 days ago‘Political Stunt’: Trump Admin Rages After NYC Re-Raises Pride Flag at Stonewall
News3 days ago‘No Going Back’: Report Warns Post-MAGA America Will Never Be the Same
News2 days agoFar Right Extremist Leader Puts Trump on Notice Over Epstein Files
News4 days ago‘Politically Toxic’: Voters Say Biden Was Better Than Trump
News4 days ago‘100% Exonerated’: In Wild Rant Trump Ties Bondi’s Epstein Hearing to Russia Probe
News4 days agoTrump Working Systematically to Unravel Democracy and ‘Destroy Institutions’: Columnists
News3 days agoTrump’s Pardon ‘Blizzard’ Grows With Clemency for Five Former NFL Players
