The 1,547-page, pork-packed continuing resolution (CR) spending bill negotiated by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and unveiled days before its Friday deadline is an “embarrassment,” Sen. Josh Hawley said during an appearance on “The Alex Marlow Show” on Wednesday.
“And the fact that a Republican Speaker of the House personally negotiated this stuff and is trying to jam it down our throats on no notice — they just dropped this bill, now they want to vote on it tonight — it is unbelievable to me,” Hawley said.
Johnson has been facing a massive pressure campaign from his fellow Republicans since the release of the spending bill on Tuesday night, which is meant to sustain government operations until March of 2025, but is instead packed with billions in extra spending for many concerning items.
For example, the bill includes a one-year extension of the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC), which funds organizations that censor conservative media, including Breitbart News. It also includes pay raises for members of Congress, a provision allowing lawmakers to opt out of having to use Obamacare, and a provision that would bar or stymie investigations into Congress.
Hawley called the rushed process a “total clown show,” but said he hopes there are enough Republicans against the bill who can stop the excessive spending in its tracks.
“I for one am sick of it, and I think the American people are sick of it,” he said. “They want people who do what they say, and Republicans have been saying for years they’re not going to engage these games, they’re not going to do this kind of stuff, and Mike Johnson just keeps right on doing it.”
When Marlow asked Hawley how Congress could clean up the process and avoid voting on bills they have not read that are thousands of pages long, the senator said the first step is to have leadership “that is actually going to do what they say.”
“You’ve got to stop doing these massive, huge, end-of-the-year, multi-thousand-page bills. You have to follow the process. The budget was supposed to be done in September. By law, Congress is supposed to pass a budget in September. They’re supposed to do it in ten separate budget bills, so that we can debate them, read them, pass them, and they haven’t done any of that,” he said.
“They obviously blew right through that September deadline — then they get to the end of the year and it’s a huge pile up, and they are counting on that fact, Alex, that there’s no time left, that nobody will have time to read this. That’s what they want,” he continued. “They don’t want us to read it and find what they’ve jammed into this thing.”
“Democrats have been doing this for decades. The fact that Republicans are doing it is just disgusting,” he added.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) became the first Republican on Wednesday to openly say that he will not support Johnson in the speakership vote in January — a sentiment Hawley seconds.
“Well, I wouldn’t vote for Mike Johnson,” Hawley said, when asked if Republicans need a new Speaker of the House.
President-elect Donald Trump, who supported Johnson’s nomination in November, said on Wednesday he is “totally against” the bill. Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance additionally put out a statement warning that the bill “would give sweetheart provisions for government censors and for Liz Cheney.”
“The Alex Marlow Show,” hosted by Breitbart Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow, is a weekday podcast produced by Breitbart News and Salem Podcast Network. You can subscribe to the podcast on YouTube, Rumble, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.