Budget impasse will have ‘devastating’ result

“I think what we’ve got going on here is survival of the membership, in terms of being reelected to Congress, or retaining their speakership, and damn the American people here, damn the economy,” said Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier.

It’s brinksmanship as usual on Capitol Hill.

Bowing to Tea Party pressure in his caucus, Republican Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday agreed to have the House once again vote on defunding Obamacare in exchange for funding the government through the end of the year. The measure has no chance of going anywhere in the Democratic-controlled Senate–as has happened some 41 times already when the House voted to repeal President Obama’s landmark healthcare initiative–and puts a government shutdown entirely within the realm of possibility.

Unless lawmakers can come to an agreement on a spending bill, which won’t happen if defunding Obamacare is on the table, the government will shut down on Oct 1, the beginning of the government’s fiscal year.

Speaking at a business roundtable on Wednesday, President Obama called Republicans’ actions “irresponsible.”

“I’m happy to negotiate with [Republicans] around the budget, just as I’ve done in the past,” he said. “What I will not do is to create a habit, a pattern, whereby the full faith and credit of the United States ends up being a bargaining chip to set policy.”

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

Rep. Jackie Speier, a Democratic member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said this strategy Boehner is choosing to uphold will be a losing one. Even if Tea Party members go back to their constituencies as heroes, she said, it could cost the GOP its majority in the House. Boehner, who is calculating how to hold onto his speakership, may find that the decision won’t be his caucus’ to decide.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

“My Republican colleagues are really interested in cheap theater, but this has become the theater of the absurd,” said Speier on NewsNation Wednesday. “I think what we’ve got going on here is survival of the membership, in terms of being reelected to Congress, or retaining their speakership, and damn the American people here, damn the economy.”

“The result is going to be just devastating,” she said.