It's getting down to crunch time for the Continuing Resolution House Speaker Mike Johnson has managed to pull together despite some pretty formidable odds within their own party - a not unusual state of affairs for us - and in the face of truly whackjob opposition.

As the GOP Conference Chairwoman said today, 'Democrats have become agents of chaos.'

Deranged Democrats - they have no vision, they have no plan, and they still have no leader...As their leadership has given them no guidance, I...encourage them to keep doing what you're doing. Keep hating. Democrats hate so much of what President Trump stands for and what the American people stand for that they are willing to shut our government down...

My only quibble would be with the words 'have become.' 

Democrats are chaos agents. They've been there for the longest time. They got nuthin' else.

NUTHIN'

I'm not sure they'd know how to behave any differently anymore, it's been so long. And the run-your-mouth-at-random-about-whatever virus has spread through their ranks so thoroughly it could be a hard, hard mole to whack back.

It stands to reason that all the House Dems, even ones who have half a claim to moderation in their stances and tone, will cleave to the line.

The vote is scheduled for 4 p.m. EST.

The Vice President arrived on the Hill hours ago to attend a closed-door pre-vote session with the Speaker and others and generally rally the troops.

Vice President JD Vance arrived at House Republicans' closed-door meeting Tuesday morning, but did not respond to questions including what his message is to members on the funding bill.

The vote is scheduled to take place in the 4 p.m. ET hour.

The White House has played an outsize role in the talks, as Trump is urging Republicans to support the measure. The president even placed phone calls on Monday to some lawmakers who are on the fence in an attempt to shore up the votes, according to a White House official.

One of the best - and, frankly, most surprising - advocates and explanations for the CR came from Chip Roy, member of the House Freedom Caucus.

In most budget battles, especially CR fights, this caucus is the pain in any speaker's ass, and I'll bet they thought they would be this time around.

But Roy, like the others, realizes how important keeping the early Trump momentum going (and how important it is to Democrats to squelch it) plus, this CR is damn near what the caucus has almost always demanded and never gotten - a CLEAN bill.

No earmarks, a minuscule (as funding bills go) 100 pages long, and freezes spending at 2024 levels (he wasn't sure at the time, but might actually have a tiny reduction in there somewhere).

Why 6 month spending freeze “CR?” 1) Keep lights on for @elonmusk & DOGE, 2) Dems WANT shutdown to stop Elon, 3) No earmarks, 3) No big omnibus, 4) 72 hrs to read, 5) Set up White House to impound & identify waste 6) set up cuts in fy26, & 7) Freeze / stop spending increase.

HELLO

The feisty House Freedom Caucus laid it out:

The administration, cabinet secretaries, and DOGE raptors can identify and cancel some contracts, etc., but they can't strip funding. They can't eliminate different departments and bureaus within the bigger departments that have been funded specifically by Congress.

Trump is asking for this breathing room for his team based on what they've accomplished so far, and even most of the hard-core cynics are willing to give them the shot they've earned.

Thomas Massie of Kentucky is the only confirmed GOP hold-out so far, and Speaker Johnson can't afford anyone else to bolt.

He was sounding optimistic he had the votes a little while ago.

Speaker Mike Johnson, at a news conference with House Republican leadership, claimed he had the votes ahead of Tuesday afternoon's vote on a funding bill to avert a looming government shutdown.

As he railed against Democrats for their opposition to the measure, Johnson was asked by a reporter if that implied he doesn't have the support among his own caucus.

"No, we'll have the votes. We're going to pass the CR. We can do it on our own," Johnson contended.

Hakeem Jeffries, Chaos Agent. The silver-tongued-tied opposition tries hard to work its magic on American opinion. 

But, as Ed said in his post, Dems could be walking into a trap they made for themselves.

I have to say, the GOP has been a lot better at smacking down the lies this time around, and they really get after the Dems the second something spews, no matter who it blurts out from. Their messaging has been super, which makes me wonder if these cyber attacks on X aren't the teensiest bit related to the CR, too. 

It really doesn't matter as much if Democrat lies get out so much as stopping word of what the Republicans are doing does. It's vital when, as Curtiss Houck says, 'It's pants on fire lies.' And, yeah, it's Jasmine 'Gemini Croquette' Crockett, but the girl gets a lot of airtime.

We're having ourselves a time here, getting this done without the snippets of video, etc., to bring you - I can't even live link Xweet because the embed function is still down.

This is all kind of convenient for the bad guys however dumb they play for the cameras, no?

When Vance hit the Hill, he also brought along the bones of a spending cuts package for members to chew on, which would go along with the recession process.

Vice President JD Vance told House Republicans on Tuesday that the administration would put forward a rescissions package to codify spending cuts as part of his attempt to convince GOP holdouts to back House leaders’ six-month stopgap spending measure.

Vance was not specific on the timing or vehicle for such a package, but said the cuts identified by the Elon Musk-led “Department of Government Efficiency” would be enshrined in future legislation, House Republicans leaving the morning GOP conference meeting said.

Republican leaders are trying to keep the rank and file on board for the continuing resolution that’s currently set for a vote after 4 p.m. Tuesday. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., is a dug-in “no” vote, and a handful of other members have expressed reservations. 

Democrats are expected to widely vote against the measure, which would cut nondefense spending by $13 billion while giving defense spending a $6 billion boost, according to House Republicans. 

So it's a super slim margin with two hours and counting to keep the DOGE team hunting dollars to the end of the year and the rest of the administration on its current rampage.

Whatever the Chaos Agents can do to derail that, you can bet they're going to try, come hell or high water.

They communicate regularly with both.

I'm in the 'give the administration a shot' club.'

And would love to see the Chaos Agents left high, dry, and gasping for air this afternoon.

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