Stop me if you've heard this one before. The House Republican leadership proposes a bill. Conservatives in the GOP caucus revolt. The Republican leadership make the bill far more conservative to woo their support, costing Democratic votes. Conservatives reject the bill anyway, forcing the leadership to pull the bill from the floor to avoid a humiliating defeat.
It's a movie that must be getting pretty old for Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who was forced to do just that on Thursday after his team failed to whip enough Republican votes to pass a $695 million bill to deal with an ongoing border crisis caused by an influx of tens of thousands of Latin American children. Boehner's price tag had initially been $1.5 billion, which caused some sticker shock in his caucus. (President Obama has asked for $3.7 billion to aid the children and provide federal agencies with additional support.)
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Test driving the Rolls-Royce Spectre Black BadgeThe Week Recommends We take the most powerful Rolls-Royce ever built for a spin in Barcelona
-
Tuberculosis is seeing a resurgence, and it's only going to get worseUnder the radar The spread of the deadly infection is buoyed by global unrest
-
Sudoku hard: April 03, 2025The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
Sen. Booker's 25-hour speech beats ThurmondSpeed Read He spoke for the longest time in recorded Senate history, protesting the Trump administration's policies
-
Bondi seeks death penalty for Luigi MangioneSpeed Read Mangione was charged with fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year
-
Democrats win costly Wisconsin court seatSpeed Read Democrats prevailed in an election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court despite Elon Musk's robust financial support of the Republican candidate
-
WHCA rejects White House press seating grabSpeed Read The White House Correspondents' Association objected to the Trump administration's bid to control where journalists sit during press briefings
-
Trump sends more migrants to El Salvador jailSpeed Read Another 17 Venezuelan alleged gang members have been deported to a notorious prison
-
Trump 'not joking' about unconstitutional 3rd termSpeed Read The president seems to be serious about seeking a third term in 2028
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
Supreme Court upholds 'ghost gun' restrictionsSpeed Read Ghost guns can be regulated like other firearms
