💅 A Maine Democrat says no to bailing out a Republican's speaker bid.
◉ House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy failed for a sixth time on Wednesday to get enough votes from his colleagues to be the next speaker, putting the chamber in an unprecedented place in the modern era and leaving the chamber officially with no rules nor members for the moment.
◉ Some members have suggested a unity candidate. One Democrat, Brad Sherman of California, floated the idea of a deal in which his party would hand McCarthy the votes to be speaker but extract a promise on the debt limit. There's no indication that McCarthy would take it and it might cost him more support on his own side, making it likely that Republicans solve this alone.
◉ Chellie Pingree, a Democrat from Maine's 1st District, rejected the idea in a statement, saying it's up to Republicans to name a speaker and she will continue to support Democratic leader Hakeem Jefferies of New York. Jared Golden of the 2nd District has also backed him all along.
◉ "It's sad to go from the most productive Congress since the Great Society to this," Pingree said. "After six failed ballots, this is a historic embarrassment for the GOP, but it's also a very dangerous moment for our country."
🔧 Legislative Republicans are trying low-key but important rule changes.
◉ The Democratic-led Legislature sent a host of proposed rule changes to a committee on Thursday that reflect Republicans' desire to empower members more but raise the bar significantly when it comes to advancing certain bills.
◉ The changes, proposed separately by Sen. Rick Bennett of Oxford and Rep. John Andrews of Paris, would bar lawmakers from submitting open-ended placeholder bills known as "concept drafts," force lawmakers to wait for fiscal estimates before sending bills out of committees, eliminate the deadline for lawmakers to submit most bills ahead of odd-numbered years and nix the requirement that top lawmakers approve symbolic resolutions.
◉ These changes would not be as important this year, since the deadline to submit bills has already passed. But they would substantially change the way the Legislature operates. Bennett has long called for legislative reforms, arguing the bodies waste time and take a back seat to the executive branch. |
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