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.)
This time around, Boehner also faced a familiar bete noire: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who reportedly encouraged hard-right Republicans to vote against the bill.
The latest turn of events means the issue will likely not be resolved before Congress starts a five-week recess tomorrow. In case you need reminding, Congress' approval ratings continue to hover at all-time lows.