Dems say ‘hell no’ to GOP plan B on government funding, debt ceiling
House Democrats are rallying in overwhelming opposition to the Republicans’ second stab at a government funding bill, vowing to sink it on the House floor and force GOP leaders back to the table to negotiate a bipartisan compromise.
Huddling behind closed doors in the Capitol basement, party leaders detailed their opposition to the bill and urged their troops to join them in voting against it.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) foreshadowed that message going in, saying the GOP bill is “laughable.”
If there were any questions about the message resonating, they were dispelled by the loud chants of “hell no” that could be heard deep into the hallway outside the meeting room.
“You heard the two-word position,” Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said afterward.
“We’re all there,” echoed Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.).
The vote, which is expected shortly after 6 p.m. on Thursday, is governed by a fast-track procedure known as the suspension calendar, which requires two-thirds of the House chamber to pass the bill. The Democrats’ opposition means GOP leaders will fall far short of that bar, forcing Republicans either to attempt to move the bill through the Rules Committee, where hard-line conservatives could sink it, or abandon the bill in favor of a plan C.
President-elect Trump brought Congress to a standstill this week when he came out against the previous bipartisan funding plan that both sides had agreed to, while also making a last-minute demand for Republicans to put in language tackling the nation’s borrowing ceiling.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5049669-democrats-government-shutdown-debt-ceiling/
