Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Let there be snark.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

the 10% who apparently lack object permanence

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

“In the future, this lab will be a museum. do not touch it.”

The words do not have to be perfect.

Humiliatingly small and eclipsed by the derision of millions.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Of Budgets And Bad Faith (Open Thread)

Of Budgets And Bad Faith (Open Thread)

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Remember about a thousand years ago when Senator Katie Britt (R-AL) gave the worst SOTU response in recorded human history? The creepy affect and jarring clash of expressions with verbal content? Yeah, me neither, even though I wrote a two-sentence post about it contemporaneously.

Alabama’s hissy kitty was in the news briefly again this week due to a confrontation with Senator Chris Murphy on the senate floor. There was no audio for the clip, but it was clearly a heated discussion, with Britt aggressively jabbing her finger at Murphy.

Former Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), now a Fox News personality, had Britt on his show to fluff Dear Leader. (With rare exceptions, Fox News programming in Trump 2.0 is like an endless cabinet meeting from Trump 1.0.) After the Trump ego-infusion was complete for the moment, guppy-faced Gowdy then played the video clip of the Britt-Murphy argument and asked Britt about it, but she declined to provide any details.

Murphy spilled the tea on a Bulwark podcast:

CHRIS MURPHY AND KATIE BRITT’S HEATED EXCHANGE ON THE SENATE FLOOR

[image or embed]

— Raider (@iwillnotbesilenced.bsky.social) July 23, 2025 at 8:11 AM

It’s an important point. Why should Democrats bargain in good faith on budget resolutions when Trump is violating the law every day? Why would they put in the time to reach a bipartisan compromise when Republicans will retroactively cancel funding anyway?

Or, as Murphy put it to the Bulwark, why would you trade baseball cards with a friend if the friend tells you in advance he’ll break into your house and steal back his cards?

Yesterday, Bill Scher at The Washington Monthly addressed the same issue, making a compelling case for Democrats to walk away from spending bill negotiations:

Democrats Should Get Tough and Quit Negotiating Spending Bills
The Republican majority can no longer be trusted to maintain bipartisan spending-level agreements. So, Democrats should let Republicans figure out how to keep the government open.

Congressional Republicans, at President Donald Trump’s behest, have unapologetically broken faith in the appropriations process by undermining a bipartisan agreement struck just four months ago. That deal kept the government open through the current fiscal year. Since Democrats can no longer trust Republicans to keep their word, they should abandon negotiations over Fiscal Year 2026 spending and let the Republican majority figure out how to keep the government open…

Democrats should immediately announce that all talks about Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations are over. Democrats, even in the congressional minority, are willing to share the responsibility of governing for the common good. But they cannot exercise joint responsibility if Republicans not only won’t keep bipartisan agreements but are openly dismissive of them.

Scher notes that Project 2025 architect Russell Vought already telegraphed the GOP’s intent to illegally impound more funds and break bipartisan budget agreements via future recissions. Republicans are counting on Democrats’ unwillingness to force a government shutdown to pick up the necessary number of votes on a budget this fall.

According to Scher, if Dems walk away now, it would force Republicans to figure out how to keep the government open by either changing the rules to allow budget bills to pass with a simple majority (since they hold all the power) or capitulating, the former being much more likely than the latter. That sounds about right.

Sometimes the minority party is caught between what’s politically smart and what’s necessary for the public interest. This is not one of those times. Walk away.

Yep. Let them own it. But maybe first let the Trumpstein story dominate a few more news cycles because any story about arcane budgetary matters would surely rivet the public to the exclusion of all else.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

158Comments

  1. 1.

    Mr. Bemused Senior

    Ah yes, budgets are soooo riveting. [not].

    [on topic] Do I have to call Lucy and the football to mind? There comes a point where you just have to admit the opposition cannot be trusted.

  3. 3.

    HinTN

    because any story about arcane budgetary matters would surely rivet the public to the exclusion of all else

    Especially when the bought and paid for media need a squirrel.

    I agree they should make the Rs own every god damn bit of it.

  5. 5.

    rikyrah

    It’s an important point. Why should Democrats bargain in good faith on budget resolutions when Trump is violating the law every day? Why would they put in the time to reach a bipartisan compromise when Republicans will retroactively cancel funding anyway?

    It’s more than important. It’s the absolute truth. They don’t negotiate in good faith. They are always phucking lying. Don’t waste your time with them.

  7. 7.

    terraformer

    I agree with this. Despite the fact that – no matter how or how often Democrats explain *why* they’re walking away – that MAGA will just throw away any agreement and take it all back via recissions or whatever TF they’re called, so why bother? – we don’t have any power in this, so we must try anyway. And keep trying, keep spotlighting what’s happening, even in an environment where most press and media will “Democrats say…” it every time, despite there literally being proof of it

  8. 8.

    rikyrah

    Republicans against Trump

    @RpsAgainstTrump

    JUST IN: French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte have filed a U.S. defamation lawsuit against far-right conspiracy theorist and podcaster Candace Owens, who claimed that France’s First Lady “is in fact a man.” The 218-page lawsuit, filed in Delaware on Wednesday, accuses Owens of publishing “outlandish, defamatory, and far-fetched fictions”, chief among them that Brigitte Macron was born male under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux.
    x.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1948035255346110560

  12. 12.

    piratedan

    in short… Senator Murphy to Senator Britt, GTFO.

    Now, if we can only find enough Dems to agree and ensure that they own this, ALL of this.  You’re not gonna get credit for maintaining the illusion that all of this is just business as normal.

  13. 13.

    Harrison Wesley

    I don’t have a teevee so I don’t observe the Gowdy Doody droppings on Fox, but this appears to be more frantic flailing as Our Distinguished Comrades On The Other Side Of The Aisle continue to lose it

    Let the good times roll.

  15. 15.

    p.a.

    @rikyrah: UPenn crumbles too.  Ivies covering themselves in glory.  Accede to Nazis, the demands never stop.

     

     

    • Settlement: UPenn eventually reached an agreement with the Trump administration that will result in the university prohibiting transgender women from the women’s sports category and potentially revising their athletic records and titles earned. In exchange, the federal funding that was paused may be released. 
  17. 17.

    Suzanne

    If you are interested, Chris Murphy was on yesterday’s episode of the Bulwark and he tells his side of the story about this incident with Britt.

  18. 18.

    Trollhattan

    At this point I’m quite unable to know if this is a win/loss/utterly irrelevant.

    “A federal judge in Florida on Wednesday denied a request from the Trump administration to release grand jury transcripts from an investigation into the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, stymying efforts by President Trump to dispel a storm of criticism from many of his supporters,” the New York Times reports.

    Keeping the name Epstein in the headlines seems to make Donny sad, so there’s that.

  21. 21.

    The Republic of Stupidity

    @Mr. Bemused Senior:

    Reach a point where you have to admit the opposition cannot be trusted?

    I think we reached that point about 15 years ago, if not earlier.

    I personally have considered the GOP to be an existential threat to the country, and by extension the world, for at least a decade.

  25. 25.

    Professor Bigfoot

    This is how every single Democrat, including Joe MF Manchin, is better than ANY Republican:

    If you cut a deal with Joe, that sumbidge would live up to his end of the deal.

    Republicans, like their leader, will screw over anyone just because they can.

  26. 26.

    Steve LaBonne

    By now it should be plain common sense that 1) the Republican party is a full-on fascist party and 2) you cannot make deals of any kind with fascists because their word means nothing. Any Dem Congresscritter who still doesn’t grasp these obvious points is in the wrong line of work.

  30. 30.

    Mr. Bemused Senior

    @The Republic of Stupidity: I personally have considered the GOP to be an existential threat to the country, and by extension the world, for at least a decade.

    Only a decade? Nixon was enough for me, never mind the Reagan administration. It has been all downhill for my entire lifetime. Here on BJ there’s general agreement. It’s long past time for Democrats in office to admit to the obvious facts.

  31. 31.

    Another Scott

    Dunno.  Sounds too easy.

    What’s the next step after we walk away?  People need to game this out beyond step one.

    Most importantly, what does it mean for winning the elections in November 2025 and November 2026 and November 2028?

    Something something for every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. – H.L. Mencken

    FWIW.

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  32. 32.

    KrackenJack

    What does “capitulate” even mean in this situation? They agree to something, but how do you make it binding on them or the Mango Mussolini?
    In reality, the only choices are don’t negotiate and vote against the result or be complicit suckers.

  34. 34.

    tobie

    @Jackie: In 2022 I adopted NC as my phonebanking state, and we came so close to winning the Senate seat then even without national backing. I hope Roy Cooper can pull this off. That would be so great.

  36. 36.

    Melancholy Jaques

    Why should Democrats bargain in good faith on budget resolutions when Trump is violating the law every day? Why would they put in the time to reach a bipartisan compromise when Republicans will retroactively cancel funding anyway?

    Most of us in the Democratic electorate have understood this for years. Sadly, there are always a few “but some Democrats” who feel like if they agree with Republicans on some things the Republicans won’t call them pro-terrorist communist baby killers in the next election campaign.

  37. 37.

    HinTN

    @terraformer:

    no matter how or how often Democrats explain *why* they’re walking away

    I believe it was LBJ who said, “if you’re explaining you’re losing”

  38. 38.

    brendancalling

    @p.a.: The Daily Pennsylvanian—UPenn’s campus paper—accused admin of being fascist collaborators today.

  39. 39.

    Martin

    @rikyrah: Pulls degrees? That’s a lawsuit Columbia will lose. Can’t do that. ‘Don’t protest’ isn’t a published degree requirement. That’s a student conduct matter and you can suspend a student and prevent them from taking further classes, but you can’t say ‘oh, you didn’t complete the requirements’ after the fact. The courts consider the published degree requirements at the time you are admitted to be a legal contract. You can’t rewrite that later.

  40. 40.

    Another Scott

    Well that’s interesting – around half the comments vanished.

    :-/

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  41. 41.

    Betty Cracker

    @Another Scott: Did you read the linked article? There’s more detail than in my excerpt.

    Most importantly, what does it mean for winning the elections in November 2025 and November 2026 and November 2028?

    It means Dems won’t be complicit in the shit sandwich budget Repubs will force down the public’s throat. Under the current rules, Repubs will need 7 Dems to pass a budget.

  42. 42.

    Barbara

    @brendancalling: Every day I understand better and better how Hitler triumphed with the self-justifying complicity and obsequiousness of the class that had Too Much To Lose.  Whether you’re Jeff Bezos or the University of Pennsylvania, you definitely had a parallel fellow traveler in the 1930s.  It’s so dispiriting.

  43. 43.

    Jackie

    @Melancholy Jaques: Cooper just turned 68 in June. I say “just” as I honestly thought he was younger. Thinking positively, I hope – should he win – maybe he’ll serve the six years and NC will bluer by then and a strong and younger Dem will be ready.

    Thom Tillis is only three years younger than Cooper.

  44. 44.

    Martin

    @Matt McIrvin: And something that he had to know the courts would deny, so it’s an easy thing to ask for and then scream about activist judges or whatever bullshit he’ll say to try to make himself the victim.

  46. 46.

    Martin

    @p.a.: The ivies are administratively deeply conservative institutions. They were the wrong group to trust to hold the line.

  49. 49.

    prostratedragon

    @Miss Bianca:  This fall should be interesting around there. How often do degrees get revoked apart from a finding of academic fraud in connection with them?

  51. 51.

    Suzanne

    @rikyrah: I applied to Columbia years ago. I would have been proud to go there. All of this bullshit just trashes the value of those degrees. God.

  52. 52.

    Archon

    At the point Trump would literally have to arrest President Obama for the Epstein scandal to go away.

  53. 53.

    Jeffro

    Dems should demand Vought’s head, metaphorically speaking, as the starting point for any budget negotiations.  The man is openly saying, “we’re going to fund whatever we want to fund, Congress be damned”.

  54. 54.

    dm

    @Matt McIrvin: on top of that, now he can say, “I tried, but this stupid judge wouldn’t let me”, which was the likely outcome all along, because grand jury testimony doesn’t get released.

  56. 56.

    p.a.

    This is really tangental to what’s happening to the actual human beings, but it occurred to me today out of the blue and I haven’t seen any mentions yet (like I said, really tangental), but what happens to detainees property, especially when they’re denied legal rep?  Or sent to torture camps overseas (or in Florida🤬)

    I can see these filthy excuses for humans expropriating whatever they can on the q.t.  That was one big point in Japanese internment; very few actually considered them a threat, it was a really big property grab.

  58. 58.

    Martin

    @KrackenJack: Yes. That’s the argument many of us have been making for a long time. Governments operate on mutual consent. There are no cops or courts to hold governments to account – they have to agree on a set of rules and then agree to follow them. When they refuse to do that, the government loses its validity in the face of the electorate. If that goes far enough, then the government sort of doesn’t exist any longer to the people who disagree with its actions (that’s when violence breaks out). That’s why following rules and norms matter, and why when one party refuses to do it, the other party needs to REALLY hold them to account, rather than continue with the rules and norms charade.

    We’re now seeing the Washington Monthly tell Democrats to shut down the government until the GOP agrees to abide by those rules. I suspect part of the reasons why a lot of democratic voters are unhappy with the party is that their refusal to do this makes them look like complicit suckers.

    I will note, Chris Murphy is one of the ones I have a greater degree of faith in. Of everyone in the Senate I’ve seen speaking, he seems to be the clearest in terms of understanding the moment we’re in.

  61. 61.

    HopefullyNotcassandra

    @Trollhattan: it looks like nobody from DOJ even spoke to the victims before pulling this stunt.  If true, that is an especially creepy look in Florida of all places.

    Both the NY and Florida federal judges asked for proof DOJ notified Epstein and Maxwell’s victims about DOJ’s grand jury disclosure motion.  

  64. 64.

    Steve LaBonne

    @Jeffro: Sorry, no. That would accomplish nothing- there are plenty of FedSoc hacks in line behind him. No negotiations, no Democratic votes.

  65. 65.

    Betty Cracker

    @p.a.: Great question. As you said, lots of property was stolen from Japanese Americans sent to internment camps. The Nazis stole property from the Jewish people they imprisoned and murdered too.

  66. 66.

    Ramona

    @Matt McIrvin: And those in his base who demand the files know that it is not the grand jury transcripts that they want. They want the videos found on Epstein’s property with the victims’ images redacted.

  69. 69.

    Glidwrith

    Britt was the one confronting and being pissy to Murphy, when she had broken faith.

    What was there to be mad about? Did Murphy call her out earlier?

  71. 71.

    Martin

    @prostratedragon: In my experience never. As I noted above, the degree requirements are considered a contract between the university and the student. If you check the boxes that are published you get the degree. Accrediting bodies have always reinforced this.

    There are some exceptions like academic dishonesty, but even they are limited and they must be published. I have to believe Columbia knows they’ll lose these, but it gets them off the hook with Trump now, puts the burden on the students to sue and get them back, and when Columbia loses, they can say they tried. I’ve seen universities try this before but in every case I’ve ever seen they lose.

  72. 72.

    HopefullyNotcassandra

    @Another Scott: right now, we are mere weeks away from school starting.

    This president is still illegally impounding seven billion in appropriated education funds.

    Across the country, school districts were thrown into chaos. Congress had already allocated funding, and school districts typically begin planning for the next school year several months in advance, so by the time the freeze was announced, budgets had already been set for the upcoming school year.

    yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-funding-freeze-another-nail-190356353.html

    For all we know, this president has already blown through the education money building his concentration camp in Florida.

    There is no point in making a deal with the Republican Party today.   Even Senator Murkowski knows that now.

    IMHO

  74. 74.

    HopefullyNotcassandra

    @Archon: I don’t think that would work.

    There is also the difficulty of obtaining probable cause for an arrest.  That error filled absurdity from Tulsi Gabbard does not even pass the reasonable suspicion test.

  75. 75.

    Martin

    @Parfigliano: Oh, that part is easy. It’s just a database – you have a code indicating the degree is rescinded. For degrees conferred in May/June, diplomas may not be available yet, so you don’t send that out and if anyone requests a transcript to see conferral of the degree it will indicate no degree was conferred.

    The fancy piece of paper you get is only for display. It doesn’t actually mean anything.

  76. 76.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Trollhattan: It is a win.  The grand jury testimony would by its very nature have very little about Trump. He wasn’t the subject of that GJ.  He and his minions would point to it to say that he was exonerated. In reality, it would be more like a term paper about MacBeth not discussing amphibian genomes.  I mean, it might, but you would expect to find it there.

  77. 77.

    hueyplong

    Tur, on msnbc, says WSJ is reporting that Trump’s name in fact does appear many times in the Epstein files, along with “other high profile people,” and that Trump was so informed back in May.

  78. 78.

    Martin

    @Glidwrith: Murphy says it was part of a conversation they were having so maybe just before she asked him when they should meet to work on the appropriation and he said (effectively) ‘why bother’.

  79. 79.

    tobie

    This WSJ exclusive seems significant. It’s paywalled so I can’t read it but will see if I find excerpts.

    Oops….I see hueyplong at #77 got there first. Popcorn time!

    Justice Department Told Trump in May That His Name Is Among Many in the Epstein Files

    Bondi also told president at the meeting that Justice decided to not release more Jeffrey Epstein documents because of the presence of child pornography and the need to protect victims

  82. 82.

    Anonymous At Work

    Does anyone actually think that the House GOP and Senate GOP can pass anything by simple majority?

  84. 84.

    hueyplong

    @tobie: Well, a bang-up job of “protecting” the victims has been undertaken over the years, right?  Wouldn’t want anything to change.

  89. 89.

    tobie

    @hueyplong: Yeah, Bondi really looked out for the victims and vigorously prosecuted cases against Epstein and Maxwell in her time as Florida AG. Funny that no one can recall a single move she made to get justice for the trafficked young women.

  90. 90.

    Suzanne

    @Betty Cracker:

    As you said, lots of property was stolen from Japanese Americans sent to internment camps. 

    Funny you mention. SuzMom and her mom were very good family friends (lifelong) with a neighbor family who had been interned and lost their property. The mother in that family told them that many Hollywood stars, including John Wayne, profiteered off the seized property of interned Japanese-Americans. Bought land and houses for pennies on the dollar. I have looked for documentation of this, but haven’t found it. I would love to know more about this.

  91. 91.

    lowtechcyclist

    @piratedan: ​

    Now, if we can only find enough Dems to agree and ensure that they own this, ALL of this. You’re not gonna get credit for maintaining the illusion that all of this is just business as normal.

    The House goes into recess this weekend so they don’t have to vote about Epstein, so unless they’re planning to deal with the debt limit between now and the weekend, there’s no reason for the Democrats to talk about this right now. Let the Epstein story continue to run.

    But a story from my high-school days: I was playing a game called Diplomacy which is played on a map of pre-WWI Europe, with each player playing one of the seven (roughly) equally-matched Great Powers. No country is in a position to win by itself, so it’s a game of alliances, negotiation, and backstabbing. It’s a lot of fun.

    I’d never played with this particular group of people, and a weird thing happened a few moves in: five of the seven players went off in a room by themselves, leaving me and my ally to plan for the next move. We survived that move OK, but when the same five players disappeared into one room at the beginning of the next diplomacy period, my ally and I split. When the five others who were ganging up on us came out of their conference to finish us off, we were half a mile away. They had nobody to vanquish.

    I’m kinda wondering if the Dems should try something like this – in this case, just not show up in the first place. Come September, maybe be in their offices in the House and Senate office buildings, but not set foot in the Capitol itself, and explain why, just as Chris Murphy did. Since there’s no deal the Dems can strike with the GOP that the GOP can’t later undo all by itself – which the Republicans in Congress and their Dear Leader have just done for the current FY – there’s no point in negotiating with them. It’s all on them.

  96. 96.

    gene108

    @p.a.:

    the federal funding that was paused may be released.

    All this kow-towing with no guarantee it’ll amount to anything.

  98. 98.

    Eolirin

    @Jackie: Oh boy. Absent extreme shenanigans Cooper has an actual shot of picking up that seat, especially if the Republican nominee is as bad as their more recent candidates have been.

    We desperately need to be able to win that seat.

  99. 99.

    Betty Cracker

    @Suzanne: I read something about that a while back. IIRC, it was about a specific neighborhood in California where a shitload of property was stolen. Can’t remember where, damn it.

  100. 100.

    p.a

    @gene108: I noticed that.   And even if this admin said “we will issue the $$$”, even UPenn admin might not be stupid enough to believe them.

  101. 101.

    lowtechcyclist

    @brendancalling: ​

    The Daily Pennsylvanian—UPenn’s campus paper—accused admin of being fascist collaborators today.

    GOOD.

    I’m sure Trump will now insist that the University administration shut down the college newspaper in order to receive aid. Shutting down a college paper won’t be that easy when all they need is a website.

  104. 104.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Mr. Bemused Senior:

    @Martin: are you referring to the Scottish play? If so, beware!

    No, he referred to some play named MacBeth.  Since the Scottish play’s name has a lowercase ‘b’, he should be safe.

  105. 105.

    Another Scott

    @Betty Cracker:

    Did you read the linked article?

    Not yet.

    Under the current rules, Repubs will need 7 Dems to pass a budget.

    Ok. Thanks.

    I get that we can’t pretend that things are working fine when the other side does what they want independent of the rules and the norms and the law.

    I just hope that the folks advocating this (or anything else) are looking a few steps ahead.

    We know that 47 will try to move money around to do what he wants (he tried that in his first term). We know that 47 will try to not spend money he’s legally required to spend, and spend money that has not been authorized (he’s been doing that already).

    What happens without a normal budget? Do the courts throw up their hands and say “political question, the legislature has to figure it out” or “Major Questions, 47 is a Republican, Unitary Executive, yada yada, he can do what he wants” or “no budget, government must shut down except for essential functions, 47 decides what an essential function is” or …?

    We know that 47 wants everyone to come to him with tears in their eyes saying “Sir! Sir! you must help us!!” He loves breaking stuff because he thinks it will make everyone run to him demanding relief. The courts punting and saying, “yes, 47 can decide, Congress doesn’t need to do anything” would not work to our advantage.

    tl;dr – I want to see more steps. Guess I’ll have to read the story. ;-)

    Thanks.

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  106. 106.

    pieceofpeace

    @Trollhattan:  I’m thinking they knew this would happen, and can now validly say:  “We triiiied, but no can do now….”  Their loss was their win, as expected and planned.

    Ergo, drop it, old news, etc.

  107. 107.

    Captain C

    Senator Katie Britt (R-AL)

    She seems like she would giggle while killing kittens, and narrate the experience to herself in that creepy fundie baby voice.  Probably while filming it for whatever fundie version of TikTok is out there.

  115. 115.

    Captain C

    @The Republic of Stupidity:

    Reach a point where you have to admit the opposition cannot be trusted?

    I think we reached that point about 15 years ago, if not earlier.

    I think you can go back at minimum to Newtie’s Contract on America 30+ years ago.

  120. 120.

    Fair Economist

    @Trollhattan: I am hoping the judge says “The DOJ has all the evidence already. They can release it without compromising the security of the grand jury process.”

  121. 121.

    Fair Economist

    @lowtechcyclist: I don’t think abandoning the field will work in Congress like it did in your Diplomacy game. In the game winning the game was all there was so once you were gone they had nothing to gain. But with the budget the Republicans still have trillions to steal.

  122. 122.

    Fair Economist

    @SpaceUnit:

    wtf is happening on this thread?

    FYWP has installed a software update (I note the “text” tab in the reply window has become “code”) and it has some kind of bug where you only see the first 20 posts until *you* post.

    My bet is that they installed some AI-written code.

  123. 123.

    Shakti

    He’s a little late to the point, although it’s a good one. Should have said this shit when DOGE started doing…things.

    It’s an important point. Why should Democrats bargain in good faith on budget resolutions when Trump is violating the law every day? Why would they put in the time to reach a bipartisan compromise when Republicans will retroactively cancel funding anyway?

     

    Scher notes that Project 2025 architect Russell Vought already telegraphed the GOP’s intent to illegally impound more funds and break bipartisan budget agreements via future recissions.

    Russell Vought is exceptionally creative, unmatched, I’d say. Will any of his opponents rise or fall to the occasion?

     

    The Wikipedia articles on recission bills make the whole thing sound like bullshit. The concept of clawing back funds is not unknown.

    But the context is super  important because we have a majority in both houses that’ll lay down and lick Trump’s unwashed body, ceding their independence, and frankly they never cared to check DOGE, which seemed to be engaged in an extremely chaotic version of clawbacks or refusal to disperse funds anyways. I don’t know why Johnson decided to end Congress early — it makes him look super guilty of something, independent of Trump’s Epstein gish gallop. Perhaps he feels he has nothing to do since Trump will write the spending priorities in crayon in his used dude wipes and Johnson gets to tap his little gavel so he can go hang out with his porn accountability buddy — sorry his son.

     

     

     

    RECISSION HISTORY INFO DUMP NOT VOX EXPLAINER TL; DNR :They which were introduced as a replacement for impoundment, which was ended in 1974 because Congress felt Nixon was abusing his authority during the Watergate Scandal to withhold funding from government programs he opposed. It was only widely used between 1974-2000.  Only 461 of 1168 recission proposals were accepted by Congress. The Line Item Veto Act only existed from 1996 until 1998, during which Clinton used it 82 times.  SCOTUS struck it down in 1998 as  violation of the Presentment Clause;.

  124. 124.

    Quaker in a Basement

    This isn’t a comment on Betty’s post, it’s in response to WG’s post about the strange behaviors observed here. I assume this will not show up.

  126. 126.

    Shakti

    @rikyrah:

    I think Chris Murphy is a little late to that point which should’ve been said once DOGE was mucking around and Congress wasn’t stopping them.

    Recissions seem like bullshit — i associate them with insurance companies and banks clawing back money that’s (rightfully) the payees. I’m not sure your average person knows that term?

    I can’t come up with a simple term to describe this in English that gets across how dishonest this is.

    From the wikipedia link it looks like recission bills were used from 1974-2000, then not used at all until Trump’s terms. Recission was supposed to replace impoundment, which Congress got rid of in 1974 because they felt Nixon was abusing that power. Recissions were requested 1168 times and approved 461 times between 1974-2000.  Clinton had a line item veto from 1996-98 which he used 82 times until SCOTUS decided it was unconstitutional.

  128. 128.

    Martin

    @u: Yeah. Universities are run by faculty and faculty are really biased toward trust and operating in good faith. I suspect this is why large universities are shifting toward hiring politicians to run their systems (who usually suck at it).

  132. 132.

    artem1s

    @p.a.: potentially revising their athletic records and titles earned

    so they get their titles back even though they protected a pedophile for 3 decades. just fabulous.

  133. 133.

    Fair Economist

    Testing, and maybe there needs to be a note on the front page that comments are acting up?

  134. 134.

    Reboot

    (test) There’s something happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear….

    Okay, it’s the next day from comment #20, posted a comment, and now the rest of the comments have appeared, but no new threads. Let’s see if it all stays up after this posts.

  135. 135.

    Tony Jay

    Is this the thread where you have to test comment to see past comment 20?

    ETA – it is

  138. 138.

    There go two miscreants

    test at 7:33 on July 24. Note only seeing 20 comments and Recent Comments list is obv incorrect. Firefox on Win10

  141. 141.

    New Deal democrat

    Since partisan recessions essentially shut the Democrats out of any budget leverage, pace Michael Corleone via Nancy Pelosi, their position should be, “Our offer is this: nothing,” and simply refuse to participate in the budget process beyond their own “shadow budget.”

    Any procedural deal reached in the Senate could be set aside by the GOP overruling the Parliamentarian,  and I am not sure if House Rules about recissions can be changed in mid-session.

    Since this is an open thread … BTW, the GOP majority in the Supreme Court, via another shadow docket order, just instructed lower courts to treat their shadow docket rulings as precedential if they suggest an existing precedent is likely to be overruled.

    There is no such thing as “the rule of law” if generations’-long precedents about the basic structure of government that have been accepted by civil society can be set aside on the whim of a  current Court majority.

  142. 142.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @p.a.: AFAIK, Harvard and Brown haven’t crumbled. Not sure about Cornell, Dartmouth, or Yale. I’m not even sure what “crumbling” is here (though if the stories about expulsions/suspensions are complete and accurate, that is a pretty awful response).

    It’s not like “the Ivies” is really a thing. The Ivy League member schools are separate entities. The “league” is not a cohesive unit of business or power. With the exception of Harvard, in the big scheme of things, the rest are really not all that big. When the most powerful government the world has ever seen decides to fuck with you, you get fucked.

  144. 144.

    RevRick

    @Baud: He’s in the hole on every single issue, including immigration. It turns out most Americans are repulsed by his masked goon squad.
    I, for one, am absolutely riveted by the arcane details of the federal budget. I’ve had plenty of practice listening to monthly treasurer’s reports.

  146. 146.

    J.

    Love Chris Murphy. He’s part of the reason why we moved back to CT from effing FL. I hope he runs for president in 2028.

  148. 148.

    flower

    100% walk away and stand up. If this were just political/policy differences that would be one thing. But congressional Republicans are simply standing by while Trump is consistently breaking the law, viciously attacking education and the press, and targeting any opposition or political leaders for specious reasons (such as threatening Barack Obama with treason charges). We are heading down a dark, dark road and so far real opposition has barely existed; even the energy of No Kings seems to have dissipated.

  151. 151.

    RevRick

    @Mr. Bemused Senior: I find budgets riveting. But then I’ve had years of practice listening to monthly treasurer’s reports at church council meetings.
    Seriously, I agree with Rev. Barber that budgets are moral documents, and the GOP has shown that their version of morality involves beating those struggling to make ends meet with a stick, coddling the wealthy, and trashing our children and grandchildren’s futures by heaping up debt and failing to address climate change.

  152. 152.

    JiveTurkin

    @p.a.: I wonder how Upenn will handle this record for the women’s 400 relay, set in 2022 ?

    400 Free Relay 3:17.80 Thomas, Kaczorowski, Kannan, Carter

    I’m sure if they take some time they will figure out a way to disgrace themselves further.

  153. 153.

    PatD

    More evidence that Schumer was wrong and naive in working with Republicans on the CR since some Senate Democrats are now making the same arguments made when the CR was under discussion. I’m not convinced yet that he’s learned any lessons from it.

  154. 154.

    JiveTurkin

    @p.a.: UPenn eventually reached an agreement with the Trump administration that will result in the university prohibiting transgender women from the women’s sports category and potentially revising their athletic records and titles earned. In exchange, the federal funding that was paused may be released. 

    I wonder how they will handle this record, set in 2022 for the 400 relay, which included Lia Thomas?

    400 Free Relay 3 :17.80 Thomas, Kaczorowski, Kannan, Carter

    My guess they will figure out a way to disgrace themselves further, maybe they can just cut out the middle man and insert some sort of slur.

  155. 155.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @rikyrah: I hope they tie Candace owens up in knots and dip her in something sticky.

    Did she go to a special school to learn to sound so calm and reasonable while laying out bullshit like a lace web to entice and entrap her marks? I have heard her.
    I hope they make her stand trial in French with weird translations so she feels lost and helpless. Surely that girl doesn’t speak other languages; she’s tied up all her brain cells in the weird way she weaves up her words.

    Normally weaving is a handy and apt word that I like, about creating and making. But in this case I’m thinking only of a very pretty and venomous spider, wrapping her pettiness up in lace and silk and smooth makeup.

    grrrr

    venting…

  156. 156.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @rikyrah: I hope they tie Candace o up in knots and dip her in something sticky.

    Did she go to a special school to learn to sound so calm and reasonable while laying out bullshit like a lace web to entice and entrap her marks? I have heard her.
    I hope they make her stand trial in French with weird translations so she feels lost and helpless. Surely that girl doesn’t speak other languages; she’s tied up all her brain cells in the weird way she weaves up her words.

    Normally weaving is a handy and apt word that I like, about creating and making. But in this case I’m thinking only of a very pretty and venomous spider, wrapping her pettiness up in lace and silk and smooth makeup.

    grrrr

    venting…

  157. 157.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @rikyrah: I hope they tie Candace o up in knots and dip her in something sticky.

    Did she go to a special school to learn to sound so calm and reasonable while laying out bullshit like a lace web to entice and entrap her marks? I have heard her.
    I hope they make her stand trial in French with weird translations so she feels lost and helpless. Surely that girl doesn’t speak other languages; she’s tied up all her brain cells in the weird way she weaves up her words.

    Normally weaving is a handy and apt word that I like, about creating and making. But in this case I’m thinking only of a very pretty and venomous spider, wrapping her pettiness up in lace and silk and smooth makeup.

    grrrr

    venting…

  158. 158.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @rikyrah: I hope they tie Candace o up in knots and dip her in something sticky.

    Did she go to a special school to learn to sound so calm and reasonable while laying out bullshit like a lace web to entice and entrap her marks? I have heard her.
    I hope they make her stand trial in French with weird translations so she feels lost and helpless. Surely that girl doesn’t speak other languages; she’s tied up all her brain cells in the weird way she weaves up her words.

    Normally weaving is a handy and apt word that I like, about creating and making. But in this case I’m thinking only of a very pretty and venomous spider, wrapping her pettiness up in lace and silk and smooth makeup.

    grrrr

    venting…

     

    @rikyrah: comment possibly lost during blog crash.

    Candace Owens, the kind of candy that’s bad for you..

    vive la France!

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