Congress: The Senate & The House

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Mercy from Manchin

Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) is abandoning his opposition to Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, opening the possibility that Su can be formally confirmed by the Senate before President Biden leaves office.

Why it matters: Manchin's change-of-heart will put pressure on Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to bring her nomination to the floor before Congress leaves town.

• "We had differences. I couldn't vote for her because of the differences, but I would do nothing that would harm her, and her further endeavors in life," he said, explaining his stark reversal.

Between the lines: Last week, Manchin gave his party a final middle finger with his vote to tank Lauren McFerran for the National Labor Relations Board, depriving Democrats of a majority for the first half of Trump's term.

• Now he's making nice with labor.
• A Schumer spokesperson declined to comment.

— Hans Nichols and Stephen Neukam

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Government funding plan collapses as Trump makes new demands days before shutdown President-elect Donald Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan Wednesday to prevent a Christmastime government shutdown, instead telling House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans to essentially renegotiate — days before a deadline when federal funding runs out. Read more.

Why this matters: The president-elect made a proposal that combined some continuation of government funds along with a much more controversial provision to raise the nation’s debt limit — something his own party routinely rejects. It all shows just how hard it will be for Republicans next year, as they seize control of the House, Senate and White House, to unify and lead the nation.   Democrats decried the GOP revolt over the stopgap measure. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said “an agreement is an agreement,” and by backing out of it the House Republicans “will now own any harm that is visited upon the American people.”   The episode showcased the growing political influence of billionaire ally Elon Musk, whom Trump has selected alongside entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to spearhead the Department of Government Efficiency, a nongovernmental task force. Musk began criticizing the measure as soon as it was released Tuesday evening, and he continuously posted about it Wednesday. “Stop the steal of your tax dollars!” Musk wrote on his social media platform X as he dangled primary challenges against anyone who voted for the budget deal, a threat Trump later echoed in a post of his own.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump brings chaos back to Washington with Musk’s help   Senate passes defense bill that will raise troop pay and aims to counter China’s power   The Fed expects to cut rates more slowly in 2025. What that could mean for mortgages, debt and more   A key Trump ally on immigration explains how mass deportations could work   Pardon Trump? New York governor says president-elect would have to show ‘remorse’   House passes bill backed by Paris Hilton to reform youth treatment facilities   Senate committee to hold confirmation hearing for defense secretary nominee Hegseth on Jan 14 ps:Not even in office yet and already causing chaos!!

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Musk's America

Via X Elon Musk is arguably the most powerful man in business, the most powerful man in media and, at least at this moment, the most powerful man in politics, Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei write in a "Behind the Curtain" column. Why it matters: This much power, across this many pillars of society, is without precedent. Musk yesterday single-handedly, his voice amplified by his daylong bombardment of scores of tweets on his X platform, sank a 1,547-page, bipartisan House spending bill aimed at preventing a government shutdown at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. 💡 It's a breathtaking preview of the new power centers that will rewire Washington beginning with Trump's inauguration 32 days from now. A Trump source told us this is the new playbook: Republican lawmakers got "instant and overwhelming feedback. Before, it had to be slowly funneled through conservative press ... [N]ow there is a megaphone." 🏛️ Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who's friends with Trump and Musk, told us: "Both men never give up, and follow through even if it seems impossible. You should never bet against Trump or Elon." Now, the two are a combined force blanketing culture, media and governance. 📱 The number of lawmakers genuflecting to Musk on X was astonishing. "My phone was ringing off the hook," said Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky. "The people who elected us are listening to Elon Musk." If the government shuts down, Musk can take credit or blame. Twelve hours after Musk lit the match with a 4:15 a.m. tweet (now with 37 million views) saying the 3-month spending bill must die, Trump and Vice President-elect Vance upped the ante with a statement saying Congress must raise the nation's debt ceiling now instead of waiting, as expected, until next year. Vance was at the Capitol, participating in closed-door negotiations. "Republicans must GET SMART and TOUGH," Trump and Vance said. "If Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, then CALL THEIR BLUFF." House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), whose speakership looked secure after Republicans kept the House, could lose his gavel after yesterday's revolt — which Musk inspired and stoked. 🔎 Behind the scenes: Musk flexed his intimacy with Trump last night by reportedly joining the table with his rival, Jeff Bezos and his fiancée, Lauren Sanchez, as they dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. 🖼️ The big picture: Not too shabby for a guy who barely dabbled in politics until the past year or so. Now, Musk is a full-time policy advocate, government cost-cutter, and omnipresent Trump adviser — while running four companies. Trump dominates politics, and will do so without peer once in office. But even Trump found himself responding to Musk's crusade to tank the package, which would have extended existing government programs and services at their current levels through March 14. 🎄 But it included disaster relief, assistance for farmers, a new stadium provision for the Washington Commanders — "a true Christmas tree of a bill, adorned with all manner of unrelated policy measures in the kind of year-end catchall that Republicans have long derided," as The New York Times put it. Vivek Ramaswamy — co-leader with Musk of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — joined the online barrage. "We the People won," Ramaswamy tweeted at dinnertime. "That's how America is supposed to work." Between the lines: Remember that Musk is a private citizen, and Trump isn't in office yet — just as Trump torpedoed an immigration bill when he was still a candidate. X is now the world's most powerful information tool, with Musk as the architect. Screenshot: MSNBC ⏰ How it happened: "Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!" Musk tweeted in early afternoon, in a post that got 27 million views. "THIS CRIMINAL BILL MUST NOT PASS," he added fifteen minutes later. Ten minutes after that: "Please call your elected representatives right away to tell them how you feel! They are trying to get this passed today while no one is paying attention." After the compromise bill was dead, Musk tweeted at 11:23 p.m.: "The will of the people prevailed." 📱 Trump swooped in yesterday after Musk had softened the ground. "Sounds like the ridiculous and extraordinarily expensive Continuing Resolution, PLUS, is dying fast," Trump gloated on Truth Social at 6:27 p.m. Trump then denigrated efforts to push through a stripped-down version of the bill. "If Republicans try to pass a clean Continuing Resolution without all of the Democrat 'bells and whistles' that will be so destructive to our Country,' he wrote, "all it will do, after January 20th, is bring the mess of the Debt Limit into the Trump Administration, rather than allowing it to take place in the Biden Administration. Any Republican that would be so stupid as to do this should, and will, be Primaried." Reality check: Musk's tweetstorm included a number of misleading or false claims, as Politico pointed out. For instance, the bill doesn't include "a 40% pay increase for Congress," as Musk asserted in a tweet with 26 million views. The maximum raise for members of Congress, whose last pay raise was in 2009, would be 3.8%. A Trump transition source insisted Musk's power flows only from the president-elect. "There are things Elon doesn't agree with us on that he ain't getting," the source said.

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Government funding

A government funding deal negotiated by House Speaker Mike Johnson has been scrapped after President-elect Donald Trump came out against it on Wednesday. Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance sharply criticized the deal for what they see as Democratic priorities and called on Republicans to increase the debt limit as part of the negotiations to keep the government running. The bill included nearly $100 billion in disaster relief and another $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers. It also gave lawmakers their first raise since 2009. If passed by the House and the Senate, the bill would have averted a government shutdown before funding runs out Friday at midnight.

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Closures, Social Security checks, furloughs: What a government shutdown might mean

Congress has until midnight Friday to come up with a way to fund the government or federal agencies will shut down, meaning hundreds of thousands of federal employees could be sent home — or stay on the job without pay — just ahead of the holidays.

https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-trump-elon-musk-johnson-schumer-jeffries-cf75ae3c5f04207980cb96b286e70c09?

[GayatfootofCross]

8 minutes ago, phkrause said:

Closures, Social Security checks, furloughs: What a government shutdown might mean

Congress has until midnight Friday to come up with a way to fund the government or federal agencies will shut down, meaning hundreds of thousands of federal employees could be sent home — or stay on the job without pay — just ahead of the holidays.

https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-trump-elon-musk-johnson-schumer-jeffries-cf75ae3c5f04207980cb96b286e70c09?

if they dont pass it ..they will send us thots n preyers?

at least the workers will have that

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Trump backs new spending deal

President-elect Trump urged Republicans to support a new agreement to fund the federal government, after torpedoing an earlier version of the bill.

• The House is expected to vote tonight, Axios' Andrew Solender reports.
• The new agreement, which Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) unveiled this afternoon, would fund the government through March and suspend the debt ceiling for two years.
• It also includes $100 billion in disaster aid.

👍 Trump endorsed the deal on Truth Social, calling it "a very good Deal for the American People."

Screenshot: Truth Social

📝 The revisions capped off a chaotic week in which lawmakers thought they had a bipartisan deal, only to see it crumble as Elon Musk amplified conservative criticisms on X.

• Democrats will likely get behind the new version, congressional sources tell Axios.
• "Honestly, if they put what they are proposing right now on the floor three weeks ago, it would've gotten a lot of votes," one senior House Democrat said.

Read the bill.

 

House fails to pass Trump-backed funding bill, ratcheting up shutdown threat

Congress is barreling toward a government shutdown after the GOP-led House failed to pass a funding plan backed by President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday, leaving Hill Republicans scrambling to find a path forward.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/19/politics/government-shutdown-vote-congress/index.html?

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🚨Mike's MAGA rebels

There's only one upside after tonight's spectacular failure for House Speaker Mike Johnson, President-elect Trump and Elon Musk:

• They now have a LONG list of Republicans who dared to defy them (more in item No. 2).

Why it matters: Johnson is learning what a co-speakership with Trump — and to an extent, Musk — will look like.

• It's obvious Trump can kill a bill.
• It's less clear whether Trump or Musk can get legislation across the finish line by publicly browbeating GOP lawmakers.

🗳 Johnson lost 38 Republican votes and gained just two Democratic ones on a Trump-endorsed plan to fund the government for three months and suspend the debt ceiling for two years.

• The final 174-235 tally is a disaster for leadership's Plan B.
• Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said tonight they won't try their luck with the House Rules Committee on a party-line vote.

Now comes Plan C — yet to be named — after Republicans wasted a day negotiating with themselves.

• The hard talks with House and Senate Democrats have yet to happen and the government shuts down in just over 24 hours.

The bottom line: The rough reality for Johnson is that he needs Democratic votes to advance legislation — and Republican votes to remain speaker.

• Tonight he realized how short he may be on both.

 

🎯 Target list

About that list of Republicans: Trump is sparking a confrontation with his closest allies in Congress, with Johnson caught in the middle.

Why it matters: Freedom Caucus members are both MAGA meat-eaters and big-time opponents of raising the debt ceiling.

• Now their president-elect is asking for a blank check and threatening primaries for any holdouts.
• He called for a primary challenge to Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who responded by calling the Trump-blessed bill "embarrassing" and "shameful."
• Roy voted no.

Other GOP "no" votes tonight were a Freedom Caucus who's who:

• Andy Ogles and Tim Burchett of Tennessee; Ralph Norman of South Carolina; Bob Good of Virginia; Rich McCormick of Georgia; and Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar of Arizona.

— Justin Green

ps:Good for them, they need to stand up to the bully!!!!!

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House rejects Trump-backed plan on government shutdown, leaving next steps uncertain A day before a potential government shutdown, the House resoundingly rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s new plan Thursday to fund operations and suspend the debt ceiling, as Democrats and dozens of Republicans refused to accommodate his sudden demands. The cobbled-together plan didn’t even get a majority, with the bill failing 174-235. Read more.

What to know: Republicans ran into a wall of resistance from Democrats, who were in no hurry to appease demands from Trump. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats were sticking with the original deal with Speaker Mike Johnson and called the new one “laughable.”   The new proposal whittled the 1,500-page bill to 116 pages and dropped a number of add-ons. Adding an increase in the debt ceiling to what had been a bipartisan package is a show-stopper for Republicans who want to slash government and routinely vote against more borrowing. Almost three dozen Republicans voted against it.   For Johnson, who faces his own problems ahead of a Jan. 3 House vote to remain speaker, Trump’s demands left him severely weakened and forced to abandon his word with Democrats. Trump’s allies even floated the idea of giving  billionaire Elon Musk the speaker’s gavel, since the speaker is not required to be a member of the Congress.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Farmers, business owners, fire survivors face uncertainty after $100B in disaster relief flounders   Musk ascends as a political force beyond his wealth by tanking budget deal   Pentagon warns that a government shutdown will cost troops their pay over the holidays   What to know about the debt ceiling debate   Federal officials’ authority to track and disable drones set to expire   Biden, on his way out, sets ‘ambitious’ climate goal: Cut US greenhouse gas emissions by over 60%   Supreme Court to weigh state moves to cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood   Democratic governors hammered Trump before the election. Now they’re hoping to work with him

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🏛️ GOP rage erupts in House

House Speaker Mike Johnson is in increasing danger of losing his gavel when the new Congress opens on Jan. 3, after the House rejected a Trump-endorsed Plan B to keep the government funded.

• We're told everything will depend on whether President-elect Trump expresses support for Johnson, whose best hope is that there's no clear replacement.

Why it matters: The federal government is set to shut down just after midnight tonight (12:01 a.m. Saturday) if a spending bill isn't passed, Axios' Andrew Solender writes.

🔎 Zoom in: Johnson's bill failed with 174 House members voting for it and 235 voting against it. 38 Republicans joined all but three Democrats in opposition.

• The bill was a trimmed-down version of the initial 1,547-page bill Johnson unveiled earlier this week after negotiations with Democratic leadership.

🥊 Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), a former Trump interior secretary, said he's "confused" by the 38 Republican votes against the bill — and said he "certainly" thinks Trump may call for some to face primary challenges.

 

⏱️ Charted: Longest shutdowns

Data: House of Representatives. (Note: Shutdowns are attributed to the year in which they started.) Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals The looming government shutdown would be the first since a record 35-day closure that began in December 2018, Axios' Dave Lawler and April Rubin write. Why it matters: The government has failed to pass a spending bill on time on 21 occasions. Keep reading.

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Government shutdown

Congress is barreling toward a government shutdown after the GOP-led House failed to pass a funding plan backed by President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday, leaving Hill Republicans scrambling to find a path forward. Government funding expires at the end of the day today and a deal seems far from reach. Many Republicans were stunned when Elon Musk — with Trump's go-ahead — helped tank House Speaker Mike Johnson Johnson's short-term government funding deal Wednesday by unleashing a barrage of social media posts calling the deal "criminal." Trump also called for the debt ceiling to be lifted or eliminated entirely before he takes office. Nearly all Democrats voted against the new bill and several Republicans were displeased with the contents of it, including the president-elect's demand to raise the debt limit.

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Live updates: House approves funding deal hours before government shutdown deadline

With hours to go before a midnight government shutdown, the House approved a new plan from House Speaker Mike Johnson that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, but dropped President-elect Donald Trump’s demands for a debt limit increase into the new year.

https://apnews.com/live/congress-budget-government-shutdown-trump?

Johnson turns to Dems

House Republicans will count on Democrats — not President-elect Trump — to help avert a government shutdown.

• Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and his conference have agreed to vote this evening on a bill that will keep the government open through March. "We will not have a government shutdown," he told reporters.
• The newest route doesn't grant Trump's wish to raise the debt ceiling.

📜 Between the lines: Trump and Elon Musk killed the first, bipartisan iteration of the spending bill.

• Johnson didn't have the votes to pass his second, more conservative approach. It failed last night, despite Trump's endorsement.

A third option — breaking this one big bill into three smaller bills — also withered under Republican opposition.

• The caucus opted during a closed-door meeting today not to pursue that strategy and to seek a deal with Democrats instead.

Go deeper.

ps:Good for him!!!!

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🚨 Mike's magic promise

Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images Speaker Mike Johnson relied on an unclear, unrealistic and unenforceable promise on the debt ceiling to convince President-elect Trump and House conservatives to keep the government open. It worked. Why it matters: Trump killed Johnson's Plan A because it didn't include anything on the debt ceiling. Democrats and 38 Republicans killed Johnson's Plan B because it did. Don't ask about Plan 😄 It lived a short, unhappy life, mostly confined to X. Johnson's Plan D survived because Republicans pretended the debt ceiling was in the agreement and Democrats know that it's not. Driving the news: The Senate is poised to pass the bill as soon as tonight after it overwhelmingly cleared the House, 366 to 34. More Democrats (196) voted for it than Republicans (170); all the no votes came from GOP members. One Democrat voted present. Zoom in: In the end, the bill that carried bipartisan votes was the obvious one that had been staring at leadership for weeks. The government will be funded for three months. The White House and Democrats avoid a shutdown and finally get the $100 billion in emergency spending they have pursued for months. Republicans can claim $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers. The bottom line: Johnson's promise today gives GOP hardliners, in theory, what they want. They'd get $2.5 trillion in deficit reduction on mandatory spending in exchange for a $1.5 trillion increase in the debt limit. Privately, conservatives admit that ratio is too good to be true. — Hans Nichols ❌ Scoop: Jeffries' leverage House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has privately floated that the price of Democratic help to raise the debt limit may be to get rid of the debt limit forever, we have learned. Why it matters: Johnson's upcoming majority isn't big enough to overcome the chunk of the House GOP that votes against raising it every time (see item No. 3). That gives Jeffries leverage to use the debt limit to force concessions. State of play: Democrats ruled out touching the debt ceiling as part of the government funding negotiations. But when the funding fight is wrapped up, Jeffries has said, his party may engage with Trump's demand that the debt ceiling be done away with, according to a senior Democratic lawmaker and two other sources familiar with the matter. Trump would likely have trouble with his own side and face pressure to back off from eliminating the debt ceiling if he pursues it. — Stephen Neukam and Andrew Solender

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🔎 Johnson's grim math

Data: Pew Research Center; Note: Data counts independents with the party they caucus with. 119th Congress includes Republican Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), who are expected to resign in early January to take positions in the Trump administration; Chart: Axios Visuals For the first time in modern congressional history, the 119th Congress will begin with a smaller House majority by seat count than the Senate. Why it matters: The Senate is about to get a taste of what the House usually has to deal with — watching a bill get changed or die in the other chamber. "This is comparatively straightforward," Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told reporters about the House's struggle to avoid a government shutdown. "Reconciliation is very tough. It's very complicated, and they can't manage this. This has been a disaster," he said. What to watch: The Senate plans to use reconciliation to pass political priorities with a simple majority. They can even afford to lose a couple of votes from the likes of Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) But they'll be at the mercy of what can pass the House. By the numbers: It's the first time the House has had a smaller majority than the Senate since at least the 88th Congress, which was the first time there were 435 representatives and 100 senators, according to Pew. Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune called the statistic "wild." "Any time you have a narrow margin, it's a challenge, whether it's the Senate or the House," he said, adding leaders will "do our best to make sure we keep the team as united as possible." — Stef Kight

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👋 Mitch's parting shot

Mitch McConnell gave today what's likely to be his final floor speech as Senate Republican leader. He's been party leader for 18 years.

• McConnell encouraged bipartisanship and finding areas of common ground.
• He sharply warned against allowing government shutdowns.
• He once again pledged to fight for American strength on the world stage over the next two years.

"Folks come to Washington to do one of two things: either to make a point, or to make a difference," McConnell said.

• "It's usually not that hard to tell who's doing which ... especially in situations like the one we're in right now." 

— Stef Kight

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🏛️ How it happened

The Senate made it official at 12:38 a.m., sending a last-minute, three-month funding bill to President Biden, 85-11, and averting a government shutdown, Axios' Stephen Neukam reports.

• Government funding technically lapsed for a short time, but the White House had ceased shutdown preparations since passage was imminent.

The fractured House had passed the package at 6 p.m. with a 366-34 vote that pushed President-elect Trump's demand for a debt limit increase into '25.

🏟️ Hail Mary action: At 1:15 a.m., the Senate passed surprise legislation giving D.C. control of RFK Stadium and the 170+ acres of federal property around it.

• It was "a political miracle that came in the twilight hours of the year's congressional session and after almost every avenue for the legislation appeared exhausted," The Washington Post reports.

The move lets the city redevelop the area — and could bring the Washington Commanders back to D.C. from Maryland, Axios' Cuneyt Dil writes.

Lead stories of today's New York Times, Washington Post

Go deeper: Mike Johnson's magic debt ceiling promise ... Scoop: Hakeem Jeffries' plan to kill the debt ceiling forever

 

🐘 What the rebels want

Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) notched a big win by averting a government shutdown. But that hasn't taken him out of the woods in his fight to retain the speaker's gavel on Jan. 3, Axios' Andrew Solender reports. Why it matters: Johnson likely can suffer only one GOP defection and still win. Many in the right-wing Freedom Caucus aren't committing to vote for him yet. "Everybody's got different issues," Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) said of his fellow undecideds — including opinions on what Johnson "should be doing to rally support for various issues." Norman said some wish the notoriously congenial speaker was "more forceful like Nancy Pelosi." 💡 State of play: Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said this week he'll vote for an alternative candidate — burning the single vote Johnson will likely have to spare in his incoming 219-215 majority. Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.), who told Axios on Wednesday he was supporting Johnson, tweeted after yesterday's vote that he's "now undecided." Plenty more say they're undecided, including Norman and Reps. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Troy Nehls (R-Texas) and Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.). Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) floated making Elon Musk speaker, and sent out an email survey from her congressional office. Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.), asked after yesterday's vote whether he'll support Johnson on Jan. 3, told Axios: "No comment." 🥊 Reality check: For the moment, Johnson retains by far the biggest asset of any GOP speaker candidate — the support of President-elect Trump. The bottom line: Johnson will likely need to deploy a whip operation ahead of the vote ... 13 days from now.

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📺 Senate ministers' pitch

Photo: NBC News Sens. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) compared U.S. political polarization and fatigue to family dynamics in an interview that aired on NBC's "Meet the Press" this morning. The big picture: The comments from the only two ordained ministers in the Senate come as the nation grapples with a divisive post-election ideological divide, Axios' Sareen Habeshian writes. Zoom in: Warnock said bipartisan work "is as basic as the American covenant." Asked how lawmakers can reach across the aisle, Lankford said he believes most people don't identify first with their parties but rather as human beings and neighbors. The question, he said, is how to get "people who disagree [to] sit down and figure it out? That's where we are. ... We're supposed to figure out how to solve problems." Video of full interview.

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Shutdown saga exposes new fault lines for Speaker Johnson and tests his grip on the gavel

WASHINGTON (AP) — One of the most turbulent sessions of Congress in the modern era is about to make way for the next one.

https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-trump-speaker-johnson-debt-d8084f6c9c2f7d01845b817430f6f91b?

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Why the Gaetz report came out

With a Capitol backdrop, birds fly over the U.S. Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Va. Photo: Tom Brenner/Getty Images The House Ethics Committee's bombshell report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) was destined to stay buried — until two centrist Republicans on the panel unexpectedly voted to release it, Axios' Andrew Solender reports. Why it matters: The vote, which took place quietly earlier this month, defied House Speaker Mike Johnson's urging not to release it. The long-awaited report, out today, claims Gaetz broke federal and state law. It could imperil any future attempts by Gaetz to seek public office. The report accuses Gaetz of "regularly" paying for sex, including with a 17-year-old at a 2017 party, and using drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy, "on multiple occasions." "Representative Gaetz has acted in a manner that reflects discreditably upon the House," the 42-page report says. Gaetz has denied all allegations, and today he filed a lawsuit seeking to block the report's release. 🚨 What we're hearing: Reps. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) and Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) sided with the committee's five Democrats in voting to release the report, two sources familiar with the matter told Axios. Last month, the committee voted along party lines against making the report's findings public. Read the report ...   Inside the Gaetz ethics report, a trove of new details alleging payments for sex and drug use WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics Committee’s long-awaited report on Matt Gaetz documents a trove of salacious allegations, including sex with an underage girl, that tanked the Florida Republican’s bid to lead the Justice Department. https://apnews.com/article/matt-gaetz-house-ethics-committee-key-findings-7e0500a0d526299c525df77341b4db28?

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Texas GOP Rep. Kay Granger set back by health challenges in last months in Congress, office says

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Longtime Republican U.S. Rep. Kay Granger of Texas is having “unforeseen health challenges” that have worsened in the final months of her more than two decades in Congress, a statement from her office said Monday.

https://apnews.com/article/kay-granger-health-challenges-e8a458364b4e35dd33b8c79b1625244d?

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Matt Gaetz

The House Ethics Committee found evidence that former Rep. Matt Gaetz paid tens of thousands of dollars to women for sex or drugs on at least 20 occasions, including paying a 17-year-old girl for sex in 2017, according to the panel’s bombshell report on the Florida Republican released Monday.  The committee concluded in its document that Gaetz violated Florida state laws, including the state’s statutory rape law, as the GOP-led panel chose to take the rare step of releasing a report about a former member who resigned from Congress. “The Committee determined there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress,” panel investigators wrote. Gaetz was President-elect Donald Trump’s first pick to be attorney general but dropped out amid opposition from GOP senators and after CNN reported key details of this same ethics report.

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👀 Congress passes fewest laws in decades

Data: Quorum. Chart: Simran Parwani/Axios Measured by the number of bills signed into law, the 118th Congress was by far the most unproductive since at least the 1980s, Axios' Andrew Solender writes from data by the public affairs firm Quorum. Why it matters: That isn't the only metric of success. But the stat shows the hurdles to actual legislating that resulted from two years of Hill chaos. 🧮 By the numbers: The 118th Congress passed just under 150 bills over the last two years, according to the Quorum data provided to Axios. That's down from 350+ passed in the previous Congress, when Dems controlled both chambers and the White House. The 17 Congresses since the start of George H.W. Bush's presidency in 1989 have passed an average of 380+ laws. 🪞 Flashback: Aside from this Congress, the previously most unproductive sessions were the 112th and 113th — in which Republicans controlled the House and clashed bitterly with President Obama. Keep reading.

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Mike Johnson faces "growing number" of threats to his gavel

Detractors and skeptics of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) appear to be only digging in ahead of the House speaker election on Jan. 3.

https://www.axios.com/2025/01/01/mike-johnson-speaker-election-freedom-caucus?

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Debt ceiling

The debt ceiling was reinstated today, though Congress has several months to address it before the nation could default on its obligations. That figure stood at just under $36.2 trillion earlier in the week. President-elect Donald Trump is demanding that GOP lawmakers address the debt limit before he takes office on January 20. Around that time, the Treasury Department will need to start taking so-called extraordinary measures to prevent a default. The Treasury would have to decide what bills to pay — including Social Security benefits and federal workers' salaries — based on the revenue it receives daily. A default could also roil the global economy and stock markets.

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🏛️ Dems rage against Speaker-protection plan

Democrats are pushing back furiously against a proposed change to House rules, unveiled yesterday, that would allow only Republicans to force a vote on removing the speaker, Axios' Andrew Solender reports.

• Why it matters: Top Dems argue the move would inhibit bipartisanship and effectively make Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) answerable only to his members — not the entire House.

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee, said: "Instead of electing a Speaker of the House, they have decided to elect a Speaker of the Republican Conference."

• Dems are likely to follow McGovern's lead and close ranks against the package.

🔬 Zoom in: The 36-page rules package for the 119th Congress, which opens tomorrow, raises the threshold to introduce a motion to vacate.

• In the last Congress, any single House member could introduce such a motion. Now eight others have to co-sponsor the measure. All nine of those lawmakers have to be members of the majority party.

📜 Context: For most of U.S. history, any single House member in either party has been able to introduce a motion to vacate.

🔮 What's next: The House is set to vote on the package tomorrow, after the speaker is elected and members are sworn in — though that may be contingent on Johnson winning on the first ballot.

• 36-page rules package ...