Comment on Mike Johnson Loses a Vote for Speaker

“House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has privately floated embracing the wholesale elimination of the debt limit next year rather than simply raising it,” Axios reports. “President-elect Trump will almost certainly need Democratic votes when the debt limit’s ‘X-date’ is reached — which experts say could be as soon as mid-June.” “Republicans have a significant bloc of debt and deficit hawks who will likely vote against raising the debt ceiling under any circumstances. That gives the Democratic leader considerable leverage to use the debt limit to force concessions.”

Playbook: “The whole saga is a reminder, especially for Republican leadership, of what things will be like with Trump back in office. For the last few years, Congress has gotten used to a fairly hands-off approach from the president in their negotiations.” “It’s clear that’s all over…” “At the same time, the spectacle raises new doubts about all the talk of complete GOP unity after the election, as intraparty squabbles burst directly into view.

“Former U. S. Rep. Billy Long of Missouri, whom President-elect Donald Trump has named his nominee to head the IRS, touts his expertise in tax matters,” ProPublica reports. “He advertises his credential as a certified tax and business advisor, and he adds CTBA to his name on his X profile. That profile encourages people to message him to ‘save 40% on your taxes.'” “But tax experts told ProPublica that they have never heard of CTBA as a credential in the tax profession.”

“President Joe Biden secured his 235th appointment to the federal judiciary on Friday, narrowly surpassing President-elect Donald Trump’s first-term tally by one with a record number of women and people of color named to the bench,” Reuters reports. “The Democratic-led U. S. Senate voted to confirm two of Biden’s nominees to serve as life-tenured federal trial court judges in California, capping off a four-year effort by the White House to reshape a federal judiciary that shifted ideologically to the right during the first presidential term of Trump, a Republican.”

Wall Street Journal: “The U. S. farm sector finds itself in another rough patch. Net farm income declined 4% this year to $141 billion after falling about 20% last year, according to the Agriculture Department. … Some of the world’s largest grain shippers and pesticide suppliers are girding for a shrinking farm economy by cutting costs or laying off workers.” “Agriculture trade groups are circulating lists of requests to lawmakers extending beyond direct payments that could buffet against the current market slump.”

“The MAGA-verse, with President-elect Trump and Elon Musk at the helm, continues to wield unprecedented power over Congress — but it has also found its limits,” Axios reports. “Three times now, the influential voices surrounding Trump — often organizing on X — have failed to get exactly what they want.”