DO IT!
Posted on 12/01/2021 3:22:26 AM PST by RandFan
POLITICO Playbook
BY RACHAEL BADE, EUGENE DANIELS, RYAN LIZZA AND TARA PALMERI
Presented by
Wells Fargo
FRIDAY’S SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN GETS REAL — Conservatives on both sides of the Capitol are privately plotting to force a government shutdown Friday in an effort to defund the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate on the private sector, multiple GOP sources told Playbook.
Capitalizing on a last-minute scramble to fund the government, a group of Senate conservatives is planning to object to quick consideration of a stopgap measure to extend funding into early 2022 unless Democratic leaders agree to deny money to enforce the mandate. Because of the tight schedule — and Senate rules that require unanimous consent to move quickly — the senators believe they’ll be able to drag out the process well past midnight Friday, when funding officially expires.
“I’m sure we would all like to simplify the process for resolving the CR, but I can’t facilitate that without addressing the vaccine mandates,” Sen. MIKE LEE (R-Utah) told Playbook in a statement. “Given that federal courts across the country have raised serious issues with these mandates, it’s not unreasonable for my Democratic colleagues to delay enforcement of the mandates for at least the length of the continuing resolution.”
It is unclear how many Senate conservatives are publicly willing to follow through on the shutdown threat. But 15 signed a letter spearheaded by Sen. ROGER MARSHALL (R-Kan.) in early November vowing to “use all means at our disposal” — including invoking Senate procedures to gum up the works — to block passage of a continuing resolution that doesn’t stop implementation of a vaccine mandate. Technically, all they need is one senator to object in order to push past Friday’s midnight deadline, and several are already discussing this issue.
THE GROUP HAS BACKUP FROM THE HOUSE: In a meeting Tuesday night, the House Freedom Caucus voted to pressure Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY to take a harder line on the so-called continuing resolution unless Democrats strip out funding to enforce the mandate, according to sources familiar with what happened. Last time the House passed a funding stopgap, 34 House Republicans backed the bill and GOP leaders did not whip against it. But the group plans to demand that GOP lawmakers stand firm in supporting their Senate colleagues.
“There is leverage immediately in the Senate, and we think that House Republicans ought to be backing up any number of Senate Republicans … to use all procedural tools to deny the continuing resolution passage Friday night — unless they restrict use of those funds for vaccine mandates,” Rep. CHIP ROY (R-Texas), a Freedom Caucus member, told Playbook.
LET’S PLAY THIS OUT: The strategy, if it holds, means the government will likely shut down for several days — even if appropriators strike a bipartisan agreement to extend funding by the end of today. A Senate Democratic leadership staffer told Playbook that without an agreement to truncate the timeline, the Senate would need at least five days to process the continuing resolution. That would mean a brief shutdown ending Sunday at the earliest, but possibly dragging into next week if a deal isn’t reached today.
The reason for the delay: The Senate can’t begin the process of voting until the CR passes the House — and the House can’t pass the CR until a deal is agreed to.
Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER appeared to nod to the possibility of trouble Tuesday, seeking to preemptively blame the GOP in case something goes awry. “To avoid a needless shutdown, Republicans will have to cooperate and approve the government funding legislation without delay,” he told reporters. “If Republicans choose obstruction, there will be a shutdown entirely because of their own dysfunction.”
MCCONNELL DOWNPLAYS SHUTDOWN THREAT: Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL predicted Tuesday that “we won’t shut down,” arguing that “nobody should be concerned about a government shutdown.” The Kentucky Republican — who has never been a fan of shutdown tactics — could try to make the case to conservatives that such a move would backfire on their cause. The issue came up at the Senate GOP lunch Tuesday, we’re told, and is expected to dominate another Republican lunch meeting today being run by Lee’s conservative Senate Steering Committee.
Since Democrats control the White House and both chambers of Congress, some conservatives think that they can get Democrats to cave out of fear of being blamed. Other Republicans acknowledged to us that this is probably wishful thinking, especially because the party making the demands in past shutdowns shouldered the bulk of the blowback.
The effort comes as health officials have warned that the new Omicron Covid-19 variant could be highly contagious and dangerous to Americans. Democrats will no doubt argue that Republicans are playing with fire when it comes to shuttering government services, especially in the face of the potential new risks of Omicron. But from a political standpoint, Republicans believe polls will move in their direction in opposition to mandates — not only among the GOP base but with independents as well.
MORE FRONTS IN THE VACCINE WARS: Even if McConnell convinces his members to abandon a shutdown showdown, the fight over President JOE BIDEN’s vaccine mandates on Capitol Hill is not going away. As early as next week, Sen. MIKE BRAUN (R-Ind.) plans to force a vote to disapprove and nullify Biden’s vaccine mandate through a process called the Congressional Review Act. He already has all 50 Republicans lined up to back the issue, and they’re hoping to flip one moderate Democrat.
If they do, the issue would then go to the House for a vote, where Senate Republicans hope they can pressure some front-liners in tough districts to back their cause, which would force Biden to veto the matter and own an issue they think is toxic once again.
In the House, Roy is also pushing GOP leadership to try to use the National Defense Authorization Act to address the matter as well, an effort our Olivia Beavers scooped Tuesday. Since more than 30 House Democrats opposed the chamber’s first vote on the NDAA, Democrats will almost certainly need GOP assistance to help clear the final bill through the chamber in the coming days. The House GOP could refuse to cooperate until the vaccine mandates are scrapped, he said.
“The main point,” Roy said, “is we have lots of tools at our disposal over the next several weeks to force Democrats to have to come to the table.”
Do it!
"This is the hill to die on" -- Matt Bracken
so untrue.
GOP, like Charlie Parker of MA, is ENFORCING
the MANDATE by DEMANDING “VAX”-ID-proof-of-rape.
NEVER trust the GOP.
SCOOP: It’s what they should do. Stop the trillion dollar spending.
This is The GOP in action. They WILL FOLD. They will pretend they are doing something to stop the mandate but instead they are setting up democrats for the win. I wish I could trust The GOP. I really do.
As much as I wish this was true, you’re right, this is just showvoating.
Employers can still use it as an excuse to mandate themselves.
This is a nothingburger.
But it’ll make Republicans feel good.
Well, we have been here before. A government shutdown will absolutely hurt the Republicans in 2022 and RINOs know that. Since they are really democrats, they will work for a shutdown to hurt the tidal wave that is currently forming for the 2022 election.
By the way, I want most of the Unconstitutional federal government to shutdown permanently but that is just not going to happen.
Exactly right. They always find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Every. Single. Time.
They’d need a backbone so it will never happen.
The strategy, if it holds, means the government will likely shut down for several days
What’s the worst that the real American will see?
Ralfp black face governor VA will shut down all interstate rest areas like his democrat predecessor did for obongo
Brandon will shut national parks and tickets to those photogs in the highway.
Not much else less the to be expected hand wringing end of the world refrains from the communist air waves and rags.
As our fellow citizens on the left would quip, burn the bibtch down.
"This is the hill to die on" -- Matt Bracken
This kind of reinforces my point. Right message … wrong messenger. This guy was one of the worst Branch Covidian alarmist fear-mongers here on FR back at the start of the COVID fiasco in early 2020.
Your comment just gave me an idea:
As it stands right now, consumers don’t know which employers have instituted mandates unless it has been in the media.
There’s a ‘app’ for just about everything else (hint-hint to developers on our side; I don’t have the time to write something of this magnitude).
It’s like the BLM thing: If they post a flyer in the window of their business, they don’t get my business. and I never forget.
Shut them down ......feral and state givernments had no problem colluding and shutting down non-givernment businesses and institutions for months last year. If we can do it, so can they.
They didn’t care about public health. They feared CCP virus would bankrupt them and worse. They feared unsustainable medical bills that givernment would be required to pay under the laws they passed to get (s)elected.
GOP: Washington Generals
Dems: Harlem Globetrotters
They should hold up the military budget as well until the mandate is lifted.
Right. Between McConnell and McCarthy, we can all rest easy. Uh huh.
BFD....so they do it....
then a few sob-stories by the MSMwhores about single mothers of 12 that didn’t get their welfare checks and the pubbies will cave
Where will Nancy go on Vacation ?
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