Greene Backs Off Johnson Threat, but Issues Four Demands

Plus: Your Tuesday fiscal roundup ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [The Fisc](   By Yuval Rosenberg and Michael Rainey Good evening. In a speech today at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Days of Remembrance ceremony, President Joe Biden decried a “ferocious surge of antisemitism in American and around the world” after the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. “I understand people have strong beliefs and deep convictions about the world. In America, we respect and protect the fundamental right to free speech, to debate, disagree, to protest peacefully and make our voices heard” Biden said. “But there is no place on any campus in America, any place in America, for antisemitism or hate speech or threats of violence of any kind.” The president has faced pressure and criticism over his support for Israel and its war in Gaza, which has had a massive toll on civilians. The Biden administration reportedly has [put a hold]( on the sale of two types of munitions to Israel as it pressures the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to follow through on declared plans for a military campaign in the city of Rafah. But Biden said Tuesday his commitment to Israel, its security and its right to exist “is ironclad, even when we disagree.” Here's what else is going on. MTG meets the press. (Allison Bailey/NurPhoto) Greene Issues 4 Demands but Backs Off Johnson Ouster Threat Donald Trump may be spending much of his time in a New York courtroom these days — adult film actress Stormy Daniels took a [salacious]( star turn testifying in the hush-money criminal case today — but the former president and presumptive 2024 Republican nominee is still managing to exert massive influence over GOP politics. Case in point: In a phone call over the weekend, Trump reportedly urged Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to drop her ouster threat against House Speaker Mike Johnson, arguing for Republican Party unity. Greene met with Johnson for a second straight day Tuesday and appeared to back off her pledge to force a vote this week on Johnson’s job, though she insisted the speaker only has a brief window to respond to her demands. “Right now the ball is in Mike Johnson’s court,” Greene told reporters. “I am so done with words. For me, it’s all about actions.” The Georgia firebrand publicly issued [four key demands]( including that Johnson commit to abiding by the so-called Hastert Rule, which holds that the speaker should only allow floor votes on bills supported by a majority of the majority. The Ukraine funding bill Johnson brought to a vote last month passed with bipartisan support even as more Republicans voted against it than for it. “Had he obeyed the Hastert Rule, guess what, $61 billion would not have gone to Ukraine,” Greene told Steve Bannon’s “War Room,” referring to the aid package. Greene is also seeking to block any further funding for Ukraine, defund the Justice Department special counsel’s investigation into Trump and cut federal spending by 1% if lawmakers don’t approve 12 individual appropriations bills for fiscal year 2025. “If we don’t get our 12 separate appropriation bills, we’ll have to do a 1% cut to spending or we won’t do anything at all,” Greene told Bannon, indicating a willingness to force a government shutdown. Greene later told reporters she did not set a deadline for Johnson to respond, “but it’s pretty short.” For his part, Johnson reportedly insisted that the meetings with Greene were [“not a negotiation”]( and that he was simply listening to ideas from his members. (Check out his reaction [here]( when asked about her timeframe for a response.) But the speaker also said he was optimistic that the standoff could be resolved. Before the meeting, he expressed confidence that he would be able “to lead this conference in the future” — and again sought to emphasize his backing from the key figure in Republican politics, saying he is “glad to have the support of President Trump.” The bottom line: It remains to be seen what concessions Johnson might make to Greene, but some Republicans are already worried that he might empower her by agreeing to some of her demands. Asked if he harbored such concerns, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise summed up the GOP’s dilemma with a historically narrow majority: “All our members are empowered right now,” he said, according to [CNN](. “It is a time where everybody knows we either all move in the same direction or we are not going to be able to advance our agenda for that particular week. We’ve got to stay united.” Biden Admin Announce $5.5 Billion for Affordable Housing and Homeless Assistance The White House [announced]( Tuesday that it plans to allocate $5.5 billion in grants to build affordable housing and provide assistance to homeless people across the country. The grants will flow through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which will issue roughly 2,400 grants targeting 1,200 communities. “These annual formula grants provide critical funding for a wide range of activities to address their most pressing local needs, providing flexible resources to build homes, support renters and homeowners, provide life-saving assistance to people experiencing homelessness, create jobs, and improve public facilities, community resilience, and local economies,” HUD said in a [press release](. The funding will support a number of programs, including: * $3.3 billion for Community Development Block Grants; * $1.3 billion for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, which provides affordable housing for low-income households; * $455 million for housing and support for people with HIV/AIDS; * $290 million for Emergency Solutions Grants, which provide funds for homeless shelters and related social services. --------------------------------------------------------------- Send your feedback to yrosenberg@thefiscaltimes.com. And please encourage your friends to [sign up here]( for their own copy of this newsletter. --------------------------------------------------------------- Fiscal News Roundup - [Marjorie Taylor Greene Backs Off Threat to Oust Johnson as Speaker]( – ABC News - [Greene Relents, for Now, on Bid to Oust Johnson]( – Politico - [Johnson and Greene Meet Again as Speaker Faces Threat of Ouster Vote]( – CNN - [Speaker Johnson Says Conversations With Greene ‘Not a Negotiation’]( – The Hill - [Biden Administration Pauses Ammunition Shipments to Israel, US Officials Say]( – ABC News - [Biden Heads to Site of Trump’s Foxconn Failure in 2024 Battleground]( – Bloomberg - [Fed’s Kashkari: Rates Will Stay High for 'Extended Period' and Can't Rule Out a Hike]( – Yahoo Finance - [How the Government Is Trying to Stop Rogue Brokers From Plaguing ACA Enrollees]( – KFF Health News - [Trump Advisers Explore Vast New Legal Powers for Global Trade War]( – Washington Post Views and Analysis - [The Crisis Biden and Trump Don’t Want to Deal With]( – Washington Post Editorial Board - [Republicans Can’t Stop Threatening Their Speaker? Take Away Their TV!]( – Walter Shapiro, Roll Call - [Trump Isn’t Helping Himself by Slamming a 3.9% Unemployment Rate]( – Steve Benen, MSNBC - [If it Bleeds it Leads, Inflation Edition]( – Paul Krugman, New York Times - [Buck Up, America. Help Is On the Way]( – Theodore R. Johnson, Washington Post Copyright © 2024 The Fiscal Times, All rights reserved. You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed at our website or through Facebook. The Fiscal Times, 399 Park Avenue, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10022, United States Want to change how you receive these emails? [Update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe](