On Nov. 5, Americans sent a clear message: End the bloated bureaucracy and halt the reckless, unchecked spending draining our nation’s resources. The result? A Republican victory. But now, it’s time for House Republicans to govern like they won.
On Tuesday evening, congressional leaders unveiled a massive 1,547-page spending bill—a “continuing resolution” set to fund the government through March 2025. This package represents more of the same from Washington, disregarding the mandate for change voters delivered.
Buried within the bill is a laundry list of wasteful spending, as highlighted by Shawn Fleetwood. Taxpayer dollars are allocated for frivolous projects like “American music tourism,” “consumer safety standards for certain types of batteries,” a pay raise for Congress, and an extension of the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC). The GEC, as Federalist writer Margot Cleveland noted, played a role in developing tools that suppressed online speech, even targeting outlets like The Federalist.
Speaker Mike Johnson defended the bill, arguing that Republicans “CANNOT allow millions of Americans devastated by the historic hurricane season, or our struggling farmers, go without the help they desperately need.” But if disaster relief is so critical, why isn’t Johnson pushing for a standalone relief bill? That would force Democrats to explain why they would vote against clean legislation without unrelated spending. Instead, Johnson has opted to maintain the status quo, missing a prime opportunity for leadership.
Florida Rep. Greg Steube criticized the approach, writing on X, “It makes no sense to pass another liberal CR now. Why are we working with Democrats to maintain Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer’s spending levels for three more months? We should advance a conservative bill that reflects our priorities and delivers real results for the American people.”
The American people voted for a government that prioritizes their needs and eliminates wasteful spending—a promise captured in the proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), to be led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Yet, as Federalist Editor-in-Chief Mollie Hemingway recently stated on Fox News, Congress remains the biggest obstacle to fulfilling that vision.
It’s clear that Speaker Johnson needs to step up and take bold action. Perhaps there’s enough funding in the CR for him to find the backbone to do so.
