Dec 17, 2024 - Politics & Policy
Winners and losers
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Agreeing to a three-month bill should not be this hard.
- House Speaker Mike Johnson is about to drag his rank-and-file Republicans to the finish line on a government funding stopgap after a day filled with grumbling.
Why it matters: The fact it was this painful and prolonged is a bad sign for next year's big legislative fights, from tax reform to funding the government. The House GOP's margin shrinks in January.
- It wasn't a dreaded omnibus — anathema to the House conservatives whose votes Johnson will need in 17 days to remain speaker.
- But it included a host of unrelated provisions that made the back and forth feel more like an omnibus negotiation, even if the underlying legislation was technically a three-month bill.
WINNERS:
- Farmers: Johnson can point to $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers and the inclusion of outbound investment restrictions on China.
- Storm victims: There's an additional $100 billion in disaster relief in various pots of money. None of it is offset.
- Haiti: Democrats won on getting a trade provision extended for duty-free imports on textiles and apparel from Haiti.
- The Commanders and owner Josh Harris: Don't buy a corporate box at RFK just yet. The Commanders still need to ink a stadium deal with the city, but it's looking good for a potential RFK kickoff as early as 2030.
- Maryland: Yes, they may be losing their football team, but the state got 100% authorization for the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The Federal government will retain the rights to any windfalls from lawsuits.
LOSERS:
- Maryland: They may have lost a football team.
- Sub-Saharan Africa: Legislation to extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act was not included. That's also a blow to President Biden and his administration.
- Pharmacy Benefit Managers: They lost big on a provision to direct more spending on prescription drugs back to the pharmaceutical companies. It could get worse for them. Trump referred to PMB's as "middlemen" yesterday in his Mar-a-Lago press conference.
— Hans Nichols
