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Ryuu96 on 19 April 2024
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9-3, Dems on House Rules Committee join six Republicans to send rule — governing parameters of the floor debate on the foreign aid package — to the floor. Three Rs on the committee: Ralph Norman, Chip Roy and Thomas Massie voted against it.

Typically rules go along straight party lines — and virtually always do in committee. This Congress has changed that. Amid major GOP divisions, Dems supplying the votes to get aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan through the House.

The rule allows for the separate aid bills to be tied together as one package (worth $95B) that will be sent to the Senate

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Why it matters: It's the starkest evidence to date that the GOP's fractured and tiny House majority has effectively yielded to something resembling a bipartisan coalition.

What happened: The four Democrats on the House Rules Committee voted with five of the panel's establishment Republicans to advance the package of four bills to votes on the House floor.

  • The crossover was needed after three right-wing hardliners on the panel — Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) and Chip Roy (R-Texas) — voted against sending it to the floor.
  • The right-wing rebellion was enough to kill the package if Democrats did not step in.

Zoom in: The Rules Committee typically consists of leadership loyalists who dutifully vote along party lines on advancing legislation to the floor.

  • But former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) placed Massie, Norman and Roy on the panel last year to placate right-wing hardliners who rebelled against his bid for the gavel.
  • That put power in the hands of Democrats, who overwhelmingly support the package and are desperate to send aid to Ukraine.

What we're hearing: This kind of party crossover on the panel has not happened "in the time that I've been here," said Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), who has served in Congress for more than a decade.

  • Kildee, a member of Democratic leadership, said the move is "unprecedented."
  • "I think it's highly unusual ... I don't know that I've ever seen that happen," said Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), a former member of the panel.

Democrats Take "Unprecedented" Step to Save GOP's Foreign Aid Bills