House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., "tried very hard" to engineer a means for a floor vote, but ultimately said "it was not to be." (Yuri Gripas/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
A discharge petition requires 218 signatures before it forces House action. It’s about the math — 218 is the majority of all 435 House members. And 218 is the magic number, regardless of the current House membership. For instance, the House is presently at 434 members with one vacancy — 218 is still the number. Once it has the signatures, the discharge petition only ripens after seven legislative days.
Moderate Republicans defected from their party on Wednesday.
"We were really left with no choice," said Lawler after signing on to the Democrats’ discharge petition to greenlight the subsidies for three years.
The GOP brass rationalized.
"I have not lost control of the House," said Johnson. "These are not normal times."
THE SPEAKER'S LOBBY: WHAT CONGRESS' DECEMBER SCRIPT MEANS FOR HEALTHCARE NEXT YEAR
Democrats seized on the Republican infighting.
"It shows that the demand by the American people for Congress, the House and the Senate to extend the ACA and premium tax credits is undeniable," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
The "Fed-up Foursome" believed they had no alternative. Even if that meant signing the Democratic discharge petition.
"We exhausted every effort to find an agreement within our conference," said Lawler. "If they don't want that to pass, then they should be working to find an alternative vehicle now."
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, believed the association bill was weak and passed only to stave off pre-midterm attacks. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, voted for the Republican association healthcare bill. But Roy believed it was weak tea from a party which promised big things. Roy suggested Republicans only passed the bill to stave off political attacks ahead of the midterms that they weren’t addressing healthcare costs.
"Republicans will complain about it, and then they'll offer milquetoast garbage like we're offering this week and then go home at Christmas and say, ‘Look at what we're doing! We're campaigning on reducing healthcare!’ Well, congratulatufrigginlations," fumed Roy.
Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., has expressed displeasure with how Republican leaders handled the government shutdown. Like Roy, Kiley voted for the GOP healthcare legislation Wednesday night. But Kiley has reservations.
"The bill does not address the immediate urgent problem in front of us, which is that 22 million people are about to pay a lot more for health insurance," said Kiley. "What are we supposed to tell these folks? ‘Oh, don't worry. It's Obama's fault?’"
HOUSE GOP TENSIONS ERUPT AS REPUBLICANS TURN ON EACH OTHER HEADING INTO YEAR'S END
Kiley added that the healthcare debate "encapsulates what is wrong with this institution." The California Republican argued that "party leaders focus most of their time and energy on trying to blame problems on the other side, rather than trying to solve those problems."
Here’s the reality about the bill the House did pass:
House Republicans felt that they had to approve SOMETHING. Otherwise, Democrats and the public might hammer them. So something was better than nothing. Thus, Republicans settled on the association healthcare bill. However, adding a provision to the bill on Obamacare subsidies — in any form — may have tanked the legislation. So Republicans kept the package as clean. The bill passed — semi-inoculating Republicans from political criticism.
For now.
Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., castigated leadership for failure to problem-solve. (Scott Strazzante-Pool/Getty Images)
But expect a vote tied to healthcare in January, thanks to the discharge petition.
The House is now gone for the year. Everyone is home for the holidays. The House GOP family won’t have to deal with one another face to face for 18 days.
That’s probably a good thing.
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Imagine if lawmakers were in session during Festivus, the airing of the grievances.
However, that may come soon enough when Congress reconvenes in January.
Chad Pergram currently serves as Chief Congressional Correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based out of Washington, D.C.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/home-holidays-hill-fighting-house-republican-family