Plus: Biden trolls Trump in Wisconsin
â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â [The Fisc]( Â Â By Yuval Rosenberg and Michael Rainey Good evening! In an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote supported by large majorities of both Republicans and Democrats, the House just killed GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greeneâs motion to oust Speaker Mike Johnson. Weâve got details. The speaker easily survived Greene's revolt. (Reuters) House Resoundingly Defeats Greene Motion to Oust Speaker Johnson
The House on Wednesday afternoon quickly dispensed with Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greeneâs motion to oust Speaker Mike Johnson. After a couple days of discussions with Johnson, Greene moved late Wednesday to force a vote on a motion she had filed in late March seeking Johnsonâs removal. Her call, which reportedly caught Republican leaders off guard, was met with loud boos and jeers from her colleagues on the House floor. House leaders technically had two days to schedule a vote on Johnsonâs future, but they didnât wait and instead moved immediately to table, or kill, Greeneâs motion. The 359-43 vote saw 196 Republicans joined by 163 Democrats in saving Johnsonâs job. Just [11 Republicans]( and 32 Democrats voted against killing the motion, while seven Democrats voted âpresent.â After the vote, Johnson called Greeneâs effort a distraction. He emphasized that the speaker âserves the whole Houseâ and that the country needs a functioning Congress. âHopefully this is the end of the personality politics and the frivolous character assassination that has defined the 118th Congress,â he said. âItâs regrettable, itâs not who we are as Americans and weâre better than this.â Greene brought her motion after the House had cast what was supposed to be one of its final votes for the week, passing a one-week extension of Federal Aviation Administration programs set to expire on Friday. She also moved ahead even though former President Donald Trump had urged against it, including in a social media post on Wednesday. âWith a Majority of One, shortly growing to three or four, weâre not in a position of voting on a Motion to Vacate. At some point, we may very well be, but this is not the time,â he wrote, urging party unity while also writing that he loves Greene. Trump added: âMike Johnson is a good man who is trying very hard. I also wish certain things were done over the last period of two months, but we will get them done, together. It is my request that Republicans vote for âTHE MOTION TO TABLE.ââ Whatâs next: Earlier in the day, House Republican leaders canceled votes on Thursday, meaning that lawmakers could depart for the week after Wednesdayâs business was completed. Congress doesnât have all that much pressing legislative business right now. As [The Washington Post]( noted this morning: âThereâs not much left to do before the election, anyway. Other than the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, which is being debated in the Senate, all of the must-pass bills have been completed or are likely to be punted until after the election.â But Greeneâs motion illustrates just how GOP infighting and political intrigue could continue as election season heats up. Only 180 days to go! Biden Touts Economic Policies â and Tweaks a Noted Trump Failure
President Biden on Wednesday highlighted his âInvesting in Americaâ economic strategy in a visit to the site of a Microsoft data center being constructed in Racine, Wisconsin â the same place where former President Donald Trump in 2018 hailed the development of a $10 billion high-tech Foxconn plant that never came to fruition. Microsoft, which purchased the lightly used site for $50 million in 2023, said it plans to spend $3.3 billion by the end of 2026 to build a facility to support artificial intelligence. According to the White House, the project will provide 2,300 construction jobs and 2,000 permanent jobs once the project is complete. âPresident Bidenâs Investing in America agenda is growing the economy from the middle-out and bottom-up, giving Americans more breathing room, and unleashing hundreds of billions of dollars of private sector investment in industries of the future, including AI, clean energy, semiconductors, and more,â the White House said in a [statement](. Microsoft President Brad Smith credited the Biden administrationâs policies on infrastructure, high-tech manufacturing and climate change for laying the groundwork for investments like the one announced Wednesday. The tech giant will work with a local technical college to train people for the data center and business leaders to work in the rapidly developing field of artificial intelligence. âWe will train over 100,000 people in Wisconsin by the end of the decade so they have the AI skills to fill the jobs of tomorrow,â Smith [said](. Biden was happy to take credit as he took aim at the âtrickle-downâ policies of the Trump administration, which he said failed to revive manufacturing in the U.S. âFolks, during the previous administration, my predecessor made promises, which he broke more than kept, left a lot of people behind in communities like Racine,â Biden said. âFoxconn turned out to be just that - a con,â he added. âThey dug a hole with those golden shovels, and then they fell into it.â The future of Bidenâs policies: Biden has approved more than $1.6 trillion in spending to boost computer chip manufacturing, infrastructure repair and clean energy production in the U.S. But most of that funding has yet to be disbursed, raising questions about the future of Bidenâs effort if Republicans expand their power in the fall election. According to [Politicoâs]( Jessie Blaeser and Kelsey Tamborrino, the federal government has committed to spend about 17% of the money provided by Bidenâs four major bills, including the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, for a total of roughly $300 billion. Actual spending has been lower, in a range between $125 billion and $186 billion. One reason spending is far below the appropriated levels is that it takes time to select recipients of targeted loans and grants, and then more time to negotiate terms, Blaeser and Tamborrino say. âFor instance, states that want federal funding for electric vehicle chargers must first compile plans for using the money. For large-scale infrastructure projects, recipients typically have to do the work before Washington reimburses them. That lengthy process can take years,â they write. Politically, that could be a problem for Biden. With most of the funds still unspent, fewer people have seen the beneficial effects of the spending than otherwise would be the case, limiting the potential pollical boost among voters at the ballot box. And a Trump victory in November could mean that much of the planned spending gets reduced or even canceled, effectively ending Bidenâs grand experiment in industrial policy for the 21st century. --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 - [Johnson Defeats Attempt to End His Speakership]( â Politico
- [Biden Visits Wisconsin to Laud a New Microsoft Facility, Meet Voters â and Troll Trump]( â Associated Press
- [Biden Touts Microsoft AI Center on Site of Trumpâs Failed Foxconn Deal]( â Washington Post
- [Bidenâs Biggest Challenge: How Do You Even Spend $1.6 Trillion?]( â Politico
- [Poll: Biden Touts His Four Major Infrastructure and Clean Energy Laws. Voters Doubt Theyâre Working.]( â Politico
- [GOP Senators Warn Speaker to Stand Firm on Greeneâs Ukraine Demand]( â The Hill
- [Top Republicans, Led by Trump, Refuse to Commit to Accept 2024 Election Results]( â Washington Post
- [Conservative Group FreedomWorks Shutting Down, Citing Trump Effect]( â The Hill
- [Drugmakers in Medicare Negotiations Spent More on Shareholder Payments and Marketing Than R&D Last Year: Report]( â The Hill
- [Steve Albini, Indie Rock Icon Who Recorded Nirvana and Pixies Albums, Dies at 61]( â NBC News Views and Analysis - [What the Rising US Debt Means for Americans]( â Aris Folley, The Hill
- [4 Takeaways on Bidenâs Massive Spending Plans]( â Jessie Blaeser and Kelsey Tamborrino, Politico
- [How to Fix Americaâs Cruel and Unusual Tax Code]( â Bloomberg Opinion Editorial Board
- [Mike Johnson Is No Forrest Gump]( â John F. Harris and Rachael Bade, Politico
- [We Need to Talk About Marjorie Taylor Greene and Washingtonâs Broken Incentives]( â Fred Upton, The Hill
- [The Culture of House Republicans Is Warped]( â Brendan Buck, Politico
- [The House GOPâs Tenuous Attempt to Avoid Chaos]( â Leigh Ann Caldwell and Theodoric Meyer, Washington Post
- [Social Security Has to Be Fixed. But You Still Need Your Own Savings.]( â Michelle Singletary, Washington Post
- [Medical Freedom vs. Public Health: Should Fluoride Be in Our Drinking Water?]( â Erika Edwards, Jason Kane and Erin McLaughlin, NBC News
- [Trumpâs Plans for the Fed Would Revive 1970s-Style Inflation]( â Maurice Obstfeld, Project Syndicate Copyright © 2024 The Fiscal Times, All rights reserved.
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