• Economy
  • Editor’s Pick
Money Rise Today – Investing and Stock News
  • Investing
  • Stock
Editor's Pick

Reporter’s Notebook: All night long

by February 24, 2025
written by February 24, 2025

The policy agenda of President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans is keeping Democrats up at night.

Literally.

If you snooze, you lose.

Or at least you might have missed the recent nocturnal front mounted by Democrats to oppose the GOP’s budget package.

It was the second overnight session in three weeks for the Senate. 

While you were sleeping last Thursday night – drifting into Friday – Democrats hoped their resistance to the president wasn’t a legislative lullaby.

In the overnight Senate session, Democrats forced two dozen votes over nearly nine hours on every subject under the moon.

‘The right to IVF,’ was an amendment offered by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill. 

‘Deficits and debt,’ came the proposal from Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., the top Democrat on the Budget Committee.

‘Public lands,’ was the focus for Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo.

‘Deadly and devastating wildfires,’ caught the attention of Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. 

‘The cost of housing,’ was the issue for Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. 

‘Tax cuts,’ declared Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.

‘The FAA,’ said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the leading Democrat on the Appropriations panel.

However, Republicans threw a shuteye shutout.

The GOP-controlled Senate rejected every Democratic proposal all night long. 

Marathon voting sessions – often called ‘vote-a-ramas’ in the Senate – present an opportunity for the party out of power to engineer challenging votes for the other side. They like to put the majority on the spot with tough votes. Some amendments are even drafted with a specific senator in mind. Especially someone who might face a competitive bid for re-election in the next cycle.

Democrats tried to trip up Republicans with votes on tax cuts. They even compelled Republicans to weigh in on their support – or lack thereof – for Ukraine.

‘This amendment ensures continued support for the government of Ukraine to stand firm against Russian aggression. For three years, Ukraine has fought tooth and nail for its very survival heroically,’ said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee. 

Reed’s plan scored a brushback from Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss.

‘There’s no greater supporter of Ukraine in this Senate than I am. But this is not the right vehicle,’ argued Wicker on the floor at 12:34 a.m. ET Friday. ‘Passage of this amendment – though members might wish to – will make it harder to pass this very valuable budget.’

But it was lights out for Democrats as Republicans passed their budget framework just before dawn Friday.

The vote was 52-48. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was the lone GOP nay.

‘We’re going to vote all night long to set up a bill to increase spending by $340 billion,’ argued Paul in a floor speech Thursday. ‘Senate Republicans are coming forward today to pass a budget to allow them to raise federal spending.’

Paul asserted that senators should vote on his amendment to cut spending rather than greenlight an outline to actually spend more on the military and border security. He also reminded his colleagues that the budget plan wasn’t binding. It was just an aspiration with no real money or spending reductions.

‘The talk of the savings is ephemeral. It isn’t real. Until Congress has the courage to vote on it, it has to be certified by a vote. If Congress doesn’t vote, it sort of wishes and washes around in the ether. And it may or may not wind up being savings,’ said Paul.

Democrats claimed they shined a spotlight on Republican political vulnerabilities via the overnight exercise. 

‘One amendment at a time, Democrats exposed Republicans’ true colors here on the Senate floor,’ bragged Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

But in the middle of the night. 

Did anyone see it?

Did anyone pay attention?

If a tree falls in the woods…

But now it’s up to the House to approve its plan. It tackles the same provisions which are in the Senate package. But it emphasizes tax cuts. It also has the support of Trump.

It will be hard to advance anything through the House.

‘If we don’t do our job, everyone’s taxes are going up. And so that is absolutely going to be catastrophic to the American people,’ said Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C., on FOX Business.

Republicans hold a narrow majority in the House. It’s about the math. They can only lose a vote or two on any given day. And keep in mind that a key demand in this bill is to drive up military and border spending – but also reduce overall spending. Plus, renew tax cuts.

That’s why some skeptics say the only way is to tackle the entitlements. So-called ‘mandatory’ spending. This is spending that Congress doesn’t approve for each year. Based on laws passed years ago, the money for mandatory spending just floods out the door – based on what the government owes (such as interest on the debt) and who qualifies for particular entitlements. That’s why there’s a serious hunt for the triumvirate of ‘waste, fraud and abuse’ in federal spending. There simply isn’t enough money to trim from the ‘discretionary’ side of the ledger. That’s the money which Congress allocates on an annual basis to run the government. Mandatory spending dwarfs discretionary spending.

‘If we cut all of that, we still won’t balance the budget. We have a deficit of $2 trillion. We have got to touch our mandatory spending,’ said Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., on FOX Business.

That’s why securing an agreement to advance the package through the House is so tough. And the House and Senate must both advance the same plan to use budget reconciliation to skip over the filibuster.

If the House adopts its plan, the House and Senate could then work to sync up. The chambers could try to merge their respective plans in what’s called a conference committee. The House and Senate then must vote again to approve a blended measure, called a ‘conference report.’ Then they can go to the actual bill. And the House and Senate must also approve the same version of that.

Or, the sides could get involved in what we call parliamentary ping-pong. The Senate has passed its resolution. So it pings it over to the House The House then OKs its version, and pongs that over to the Senate. They bounce the ball back and forth across the Capitol Dome until one body or the other finally accepts one measure – whichever one it is.

Only then can they get to the actual substance of the underlying bill.

Quite a process to achieve a solitary ‘big, beautiful bill’ the president is pushing.

This enterprise is far from over.

And there’s another problem around the corner:

A bill to avoid a government shutdown is due by March 14. That’s where the real dollars can be found. Real spending can conceivably either go up, down or stay the same in that bill. A problem with government funding could disrupt the goal of the ‘big, beautiful bill.’

So while the action overnight was important, this enterprise is far from over.

And while last Thursday night – bleeding into Friday – was a long night, it likely means there are dozens of other very long nights ahead over the next few months.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
0 comment
0
FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

previous post
Trump’s new SBA chief unleashes ‘Day One’ priorities to transform agency into ‘golden era of prosperity’
next post
Trump budget bill hits turbulence ahead of House vote as Senate backup looms

related articles

Hunter Biden seen driving Toyota rental in South...

May 31, 2025

Trump tariff plan faces uncertain future as court...

May 31, 2025

Musk confident DOGE will save $1 trillion as...

May 30, 2025

Who will be Elon’s successor? The top names...

May 30, 2025

Elon Musk sports black eye at farewell presser...

May 30, 2025

Biden says he could ‘beat the hell out...

May 30, 2025

Donald Trump fires National Portrait Gallery director for...

May 30, 2025

‘American hero’ or ‘failure’: Elon Musk’s DOGE departure...

May 30, 2025

Unfinished Business: The budget cuts Musk couldn’t complete...

May 30, 2025

Alleged attempt to impersonate White House chief of...

May 30, 2025
Enter Your Information Below To Receive Free Trading Ideas, Latest News, And Articles.


Your information is secure and your privacy is protected. By opting in you agree to receive emails from us. Remember that you can opt-out any time, we hate spam too!

Latest News

  • Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ will need Manhattan Project-scale whole-of-government effort, Space Force general warns

    March 6, 2025
  • Budget airline Spirit is trying to go upmarket — and blocking middle seats

    July 30, 2024
  • Biden-appointed federal judge keeps blocking Trump admin from nixing funding for lawyers for migrant children

    April 30, 2025
  • Moderate Republican Murkowski won’t back Trump pick Hegseth for defense secretary

    January 23, 2025
  • NRSC chair reveals how many GOP Senate seats he’s gunning for during 2026 midterms

    February 22, 2025

Popular Posts

  • 1

    Secret Service admits leaning on ‘state and local partners’ after claim it ignored Trump team’s past requests

    July 21, 2024
  • 2

    Elon and Vivek should tackle US funding for this boondoogle organization and score a multimillion dollar win

    December 4, 2024
  • 3

    Forex Profit Calculator: Maximize Your Trading Potential

    July 10, 2024
  • 4

    Five more House Democrats call on Biden to drop out, third US senator

    July 19, 2024
  • 5

    Biden calls to ‘lower the temperature’ then bashes Trump in NAACP speech

    July 17, 2024

Categories

  • Economy (829)
  • Editor's Pick (4,735)
  • Investing (624)
  • Stock (775)

Latest Posts

  • 4 Trump rivals that Biden didn’t pardon

    January 21, 2025
  • RFK Jr. slams Democrat in fiery hearing, says senator presided ‘over the destruction’ of US health for decades

    May 20, 2025
  • Russia interfering in 2024 election to help Trump, US intelligence officials say

    July 11, 2024

Recent Posts

  • More than 1 million federal employees complied with Musk’s ‘what did you do last week’ email: WH

    February 25, 2025
  • Microsoft blames 2009 EU agreement for massive IT outage after security update

    July 22, 2024
  • Bipartisan senators push tougher penalties for foreign-backed crimes on US soil

    April 16, 2025

Editor’s Pick

  • Biden’s Meta ‘censorship’ revelations ‘vindicated’ Alito dissent in RFK Jr case

    January 17, 2025
  • Millions spent by Biden on COVID ‘vaccine hesitancy’ campaign slashed by Trump NIH: report

    March 14, 2025
  • Trump gets inaugurated Monday; here’s how the Supreme Court swears in new presidents

    January 19, 2025
  • About us
  • Contacts
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Disclaimer: moneyrisetoday.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

Copyright © 2025 moneyrisetoday.com | All Rights Reserved

Money Rise Today – Investing and Stock News
  • Economy
  • Editor’s Pick
Money Rise Today – Investing and Stock News
  • Investing
  • Stock