President Trump doesn’t have a lot of legislative wins, but due to to devastating weather and potential of the literal shutdown of the federal government, the president is one jagged-scrawl of his signature away from proving that he can get bipartisan legislation done — even if it further stresses his relationship with his own party.
According to Bloomberg, after approval from the Senate, the House voted overwhelmingly in favor of a $15.25 billion hurricane relief bill that will be split between Harvey and Irma. This upset some Republicans, who accounted for all the No votes, for the package also raises the debt ceiling for three months — a Democratic proposal offered by Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer that Trump agreed to earlier this week.
Before the vote, House Republicans were reportedly given an “intellectually insulting” sales pitch for the deal by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House budget director Mick Mulvaney:
In a private meeting, lawmakers hissed and groaned when Mnuchin told them, “vote for the debt ceiling for me,” said Mark Walker of North Carolina, chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee. It was an “incredibly weak performance” by the Treasury secretary, Walker said.
All in all, Republicans are miffed: they didn’t want to raise the debt ceiling without budget cuts elsewhere, but a lot of the House GOP couldn’t vote against the much-needed disaster relief aid. Moreover, the Democrats have leverage for when the debt-ceiling question returns in December: the Republicans will have to do something — codify DACA, for instance — if they want Democrat votes to raise the ceiling again.
(Via Bloomberg)