House Republicans were not paying attention on the House floor, so Democrats were able to pass a Continuing Resolution by voice vote to reopen the government.
Here is how it went down:
The House just VOICE VOTED a continuing resolution that would reopen govt after Dems caught GOP napping. Several Rs trying to undo it but Ds not having it.
— Mike DeBonis (@mikedebonis) January 17, 2019
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Let's be clear. This has no practical effect, and GOP is crying foul. But leadership is supposed to be on top of this stuff. Hoyer saying he will review tape and see if anyone requested yeas and nays.
— Mike DeBonis (@mikedebonis) January 17, 2019
Democrats had sympathy and undid the voice vote. They will hold a recorded vote next week:
HOYER says he will unwind the voice vote and allow for a recorded vote on CR next week. "From time to time we felt shut out as the minority … in return we ought to extend fairness."
— Mike DeBonis (@mikedebonis) January 17, 2019
Republicans appreciated the courtesy and shook the Majority Leader Hoyer’s hand:
HOYER says he will unwind the voice vote and allow for a recorded vote on CR next week. "From time to time we felt shut out as the minority … in return we ought to extend fairness."
— Mike DeBonis (@mikedebonis) January 17, 2019
Hoyer said:
HOYER tells me of the botched CR vote situation (where no roll call vote was requested by republicans): "We’re going to give them the opportunity to vote, you know, they made a mistake."
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) January 17, 2019
On the House floor, what goes around, comes around. It was a nice gesture by Rep. Hoyer not to screw the Republicans because they weren’t paying attention. It is also good for Democrats to get Republicans on record as either breaking with Trump or supporting keeping the government closed.
Even after losing the majority, House Republicans are still showing the lack of attention to detail that led to their failure when they were in charge.
Republicans better pay attention, because the next time that they screw up, Democrats won’t be so forgiving.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
