Speaker of the House John Boehner is likely to be out of job and back in Ohio by the end of the month, but not before delivering a parting shot at the forces that ran him out of Washington.
Power brokers on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue are throwing support behind a two-year budget deal that would keep the government open and its bills paid through 2017.
The agreement would take off the table the sort of fiscal brinksmanship that for years right wing legislators have thrived on until after the next Presidential election.
Conservatives have attempted to leverage the threat of default during debt ceiling negotiations to bring all manners of policy up for consideration—from federal funding to Planned Parenthood, to the Affordable Care Act.
The agreement, which was drafted entirely behind closed doors by Boehner, congressional leaders, and the White House, has the support of rank-and-file House Republicans who predicted on Tuesday morning that it would pass with the help of Democrats.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (R-Nev.) took to the floor on Tuesday to hail the “responsible agreement.”
“While this agreement is not perfect, it does address priorities that help the middle class and helps us avoid a major threat to jobs and the general economy,” Reid said in prepared remarks before the Senate.
The Democratic leader added that the measure will “put the needs of our nation above the Republicans’ partisan agenda.”
Tea Party lawmakers were noticeably left out of the negotiations, and are lining up against the compromise. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) told The Hill that his “initial impression is that this not a good deal,” and he doesn’t plan to support it.
Tea Partier Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) used fewer than 140-characters to rail against the agreement.
“This is how govt functions in corrupt, undemocratic regimes. Not how govt should function under our Constitution,” he tweeted Tuesday morning.
The so-called House Freedom Caucus, which applauded itself after Speaker Boehner announced he was stepping down, stands to lose the most from the bipartisan pact, which itself likely would never have happened without an impending resignation hanging over Boehner’s head.
The compromise achieves a major White House priority of lifting mandatory spending caps created by sequestration. It would increase domestic non-defense spending by $40 billion over two years. The Pentagon would receive a $40 billion boost, plus a little extra funding in a Pentagon operations financing vehicle that has been decried by liberal critics as a “slush fund.”
Although Boehner said this deal is an attempt on his part to “clean the barn” before his departure, his likely successor, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), said the deliberative process “stinks.”
Ryan declined to say how he will vote on the measure.
