RECESS NOW, PAIN LATER Most House Republicans bolted out of town before noon on Thursday, punting a hefty to-do list to September after they hit a wall on government funding — and also, probably, with each other. A friendly reminder: The House was supposed to be in town through next Thursday, Aug. 1, before skipping out of Washington to hit the campaign trail. But the early exit is no big surprise: One senior Republican told us back in May the summer session would end as soon as GOP leaders’ quest to pass all 12 government funding bills inevitably unraveled. And unravel this week it did, sparking frustration throughout the conference. By the time leadership made the formal call on Wednesday to cut members loose early, the writing had already been on the wall for a while — and some weren’t happy about it. "We've got so much unfinished business it blows my mind,” House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) told Connor. “I mean, we can't pass anything. This place is paralyzed. … I'm used to doing stuff. We accomplish stuff on the Armed Services Committee, and it drives me nuts that this place is paralyzed on everything else.” Republicans did ultimately manage to pass one of the four fiscal 2025 spending bills they had teed up for action this week. The Wednesday-night vote was a nail-biter, with the bill at various points failing or tied. One GOP lawmaker watching on the floor reported that the “crackerjack whip team” and other members of leadership were actively arm-twisting during the vote, chatting with both members of the Freedom Caucus and moderates. No bills, no tough votes: Leaders ended up leaving some of the hardest to pass bills behind rather than make their frontliners burn time in Washington taking politically tricky amendment votes on bills that can’t even clear the House, much less become law. Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) made the case during leadership meetings this week that they shouldn’t force members to walk the plank if a bill is going to fail, a Republican familiar with the discussion told us. Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) also said he told leadership this week his preference was that a bill not come up for a final vote if passage is in question. He noted it could make it harder to flip members who are already on the record as a no. “I didn’t think it was worthwhile to continue to subject these members in districts — that are in Biden districts or in tough districts — to [have to] continue to vote against amendments, or potentially for amendments, that are put on by people who have no interest in making the bill better or passing the bill,” said Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio), a GOP appropriator. Stopgap September: Now lawmakers will need to turn their focus toward passing a short-term continuing resolution (CR) by Oct. 1 in order to prevent a government shutdown. And there are festering divisions within the House GOP over how to do that — guaranteeing a headache for Speaker Mike Johnson once members return Sept. 9. One key divide surrounds the length of a stopgap: Some conservatives want it to run into March, thus guaranteeing there can be no lame-duck omnibus deal. They include Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), who also said the House should have stayed in to hammer out a path on government funding: “It’s not going to be any easier,” he said. Some conservatives in both chambers are also pushing to attach legislation dealing with noncitizen voting to any CR — a move that would set up a knock-down partisan fight and raise the odds of a shutdown just weeks before the November election. (To state the obvious, such a CR could not pass the Senate.) — Jordain Carney, with an assist from Connor O’Brien and Olivia Beavers
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