So we just saw a budget passed, which AIUI has a lot of Democratic stuff in it. Weirdly, this morning I was in a room with three Democratic Representatives (GK Butterfield, Alma Adams, and David Price) who were bragging about Dem priorities in the budget, and then stressing about Trump’s threat to veto it, in real-time.
So that’s passed. Where do we go from here?
On the one hand, Ryan is seeing that he can actually get shit done if he reaches across the aisle: the budget also includes some big Republican priorities (give more cash to the military, because while you can’t possibly solve education problems by throwing money at them, if you don’t overfund the military you’re a communist), so he may see that as a victory, and he could try to do so again.
On the other hand, I’m expecting a significant pushback and splintering in the Republican party, because their huge identity is “We’re not fiscally irresponsible, unlike those goddamned DemocRATS,” and this budget, coupled with the giant tax breaks, makes it clear how deeply unserious they are about that branding.
Plus Trump said he’ll never sign another bill like that, which is a threat from a dude super famous for following through on threats. How will that affect this sort of bipartisanship?
One article I read said that no significant domestic policy initiatives are expected before the midterms. Is this how other folks think it’s gonna go? Nothing much happening until the next congress?