Charlie Kirk posted the names of the 19 Republicans who voted against it. But Congressman Thomas Massie noted that in doing so, they also prevented a vote on the warrant requirement to spy on Americans.

It’s more complicated than that Charlie. Hakeem Jeffries, Nancy Pelosi, and Adam Schiff voted the same way as well.

This group also stopped a vote on requiring the government to get a warrant.

It’s more complicated than that Charlie. Hakeem Jeffries, Nancy Pelosi, and Adam Schiff voted the same way as well.

This group also stopped a vote on requiring the government to get a warrant.

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) April 11, 2024

According to Nicholas Ballasy from Just The News, Speaker Johnson may now push forward a clean reauthorization bill:

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., could now turn to a clean Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act extension bill after a reauthorization bill with a bipartisan warrant requirement amendment failed to advance in the GOP-led House on Wednesday.

A clean bill could allow for warrantless surveillance of American citizens for another five years. If Speaker Johnson were to push it or allow a vote if the Senate were to pass their own, it would likely pass in the House with a combination of centrist Republicans and Democrats supporting it.

President Trump has called for FISA to be “killed” altogether, having been a victim of its use during and after the 2016 presidential election. Speaker Johnson noted that the amendments that were blocked Wednesday would have prevented the spying done on Trump and his campaign.

“I look forward to talking with him about it. Here’s the thing about FISA, he’s not wrong, of course, they abused FISA,” Johnson said, referring to the launch of the Russia collusion probe. “These reforms would actually kill the abuses that allowed President Trump’s campaign to be spied on.”

Despite taking the defeat, it seems unlikely Speaker Johnson would allow for a clean reauthorization bill. It would be political suicide, aligning him with his RINO predecessors in Republican House leadership. But if it’s a choice between a clean bill and allowing FISA to expire later this month, Speaker Johnson may feel like he has no other choice.

Senator Mike Lee doesn’t seem worried.

Don’t fall for the hyperbole.

The sky is not about to fall.

We must not allow for a “clean”reauthorization of FISA 702.

We must continue to fight until we can attach a warrant requirement to FISA 702.

Get a warrant!

Don’t fall for the hyperbole.

The sky is not about to fall.

We must not allow for a “clean”reauthorization of FISA 702.

We must continue to fight until we can attach a warrant requirement to FISA 702.

Get a warrant! https://t.co/Hs0hLTAZDg

— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) April 10, 2024

The paused portion of a recently released J6 video shows a man wearing a MAGA hat and facial coverings flashing a badge at someone off-screen.

Evans Tweeted:

This was sent to me. Is this person flashing a badge? If so, this would prove there were undercover federal agents disguised as MAGA. I was thrown in solitary confinement for peacefully protesting. I just want the truth to be known. Please RT so we can get the truth either way.

Senator Mike Lee says he will ask FBI Director Christopher Wray about the damning evidence, but doesn’t expect anything truthful to come from it. As he noted on Twitter:

I can’t wait to ask FBI Director Christopher Wray about this at our next oversight hearing. I predict that, as always, his answers will be 97% information-free.

I can’t wait to ask FBI Director Christopher Wray about this at our next oversight hearing.

I predict that, as always, his answers will be 97% information-free. https://t.co/m3rRE4Byfu

— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) November 19, 2023

With over 44,000 hours of J6 footage released to the public and more promised by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, we can expect revelations like this to come out on a daily basis for a long time. The question isn’t whether or not the events were orchestrated by the Deep State. That much is obvious. Going forward, we will be attempting to ascertain who was involved, who helped cover it up, and how deep the rabbit hole actually goes.

Will anything come from this? Probably not. Corporate media is obediently ignoring it all. UniParty Swamp members are giving their critiques and making excuses why they’re against it. Active conspirators like Liz Cheney and Adam Schiff are terrified. What has them all spooked? Lord Willing, we will find out soon enough.

Voice your opinion on the America First Substack.

As of this writing, 12 appropriations bills need to pass by Sept. 30 or the government will “shut down.” This means that some workers will be furloughed and most agencies will close temporarily.

We had a similar situation last December and the result was a rather pathetic cave by Republican leadership during a lame-duck session and nearly $2 trillion in spending for fiscal year 2023.

This year’s numbers likely will be similar.

The House Freedom Caucus, whose members are conservative Republicans, has vowed to oppose additional spending that leads to more inflation and debt, especially if the federal government continues to let the border crisis burn out of control with no end in sight.

We desperately need to get this problem under control for this country’s future.

At this moment it’s important to take a step back and consider why we seem to end up in these situations all the time. Why is government spending never under control? Why are we always being threatened with a government shutdown and the end of the world?

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, had an excellent explanation in a lengthy thread Thursday night on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. The crisis, Lee explains, has been concocted by leadership in both parties to maintain high federal spending and suppress individual legislative input.

22. Given that Republicans currently hold the majority in the House of Representatives, rank-and-file Republicans in both chambers generally believe that the Senate should address spending bills only after they have been passed by the Republican-controlled House, as that approach…

— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) September 15, 2023

In his thread, the Utah Republican says party leadership—what he calls the “law firm” (or “The Firm”) of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.—has caught on to the fact that voters and members of Congress don’t like massive, consolidated spending bills.

More on that in a bit.

Lee then writes about what omnibus spending packages entail and how the process has worked in recent years. Lee says a consolidated spending bill typically is written in secret with a few hand-selected appropriators on House and Senate committees.

Lawmakers then release the spending bill just a few days before a potential government “shutdown.” That way, there is little opportunity for debate and the spending legislation advances without substantial changes.

“At the same time, the fast (almost mindless) flurry of legislative action at the end of this legislative charade gives it the false appearance of democratic legitimacy,” Lee writes.

What’s important to note is that the dividing lines on spending bills aren’t necessarily partisan. This is the “uniparty” phenomenon where leadership on both sides of the aisle basically swims in the same direction.

There tends to be more resistance to this phenomenon among Republicans, Lee says, for two reasons: “(1) government spending inexorably grows, and (2) the spending bills advanced by The Firm tend to unite Democrats while sharply dividing Republicans, producing a net gain for Democrats.”

Republican appropriators, Lee writes, generally favor their spending priorities over policy victories, which keeps leadership happy.

Because of the extremely short timeline on these massive spending bills and the threat of a government shutdown, Lee writes, rank-and-file lawmakers typically are browbeaten into voting “yes.”

Anyone who has followed government shutdown fights over the years knows it’s an iron law of the universe that corporate media narratives always revolve around blaming Republican opponents of runaway spending for a shutdown, rather than the big spenders themselves.

This reality is usually enough to corral members to submit and sign off on the spending, objections or not.

The result of all this is that lobbyists and special interests often have more power than legislators in the spending process because they have the ears of appropriators and The Firm, as Lee calls Senate and House leadership.

“It’s terrible for the American people, who are stuck with the horrible consequences of this shameful dance, including rampant inflation and our $33 trillion national debt,” Lee writes.

Importantly, Lee writes that he doesn’t necessarily have an issue with an omnibus spending bill in general. Where he has a problem is with the secretive, rushed process in Congress that makes genuine deliberation impossible.

Lately, the opposition to these tactics has become more intense as members and voters have caught on to the game. The Firm’s process is evolving to create the illusion that congressional leaders actually oppose the omnibus approach, Lee writes.

“That illusion disappears when, on closer inspection, it becomes evident that The Firm’s new strategy is to promise to pass two or three smaller omnibus measures (sometimes called “minibus” bills) by essentially the same, rigged process long associated with the omnibus,” the Utah Republican writes.

Of the 12 spending bills Congress is working on, only the “MilConVA” to fund military-related construction through the Department of Veterans Affairs has passed through the House. But the bill was consolidated into a “minibus” by The Firm, Lee writes in his thread, with two other spending bills from Democrat-controlled Senate committees.

This move essentially played right into the hands of congressional Democrats and would give them leverage in end- of-the-year spending fights. The minibus plan was scuppered only after a few Republican senators objected and stood their ground.

32. Because @SenRonJohnson courageously objected, shortly after the Senate voted to proceed to the House-passed MilConVA bill, the Senate may now proceed to “regular order” consideration of that bill—unencumbered by The Firm’s manipulative plan to subject the Senate to an…

— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) September 15, 2023

What Lee is getting at here is one of the essential issues with American governance: We desperately need Congress to act like the deliberative body it was created to be, or the idea of self-government at the national level is little more than a farce.

Senator Mike Lee reminded us of the facts Thursday night:

Remember: Biden personally green-lighted the raid on Trump’s home.

Remember: Biden personally green-lighted the raid on Trump’s home. https://t.co/52YgsVLQ3R

— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) June 9, 2023

According to Mike Davis:

Biden waived Trump’s claim of Executive Privilege. Deputy White House Counsel Jonathan Su relayed Biden’s order to the National Archives. This led to Garland’s unprecedented, unnecessary, unlawful home raid on Trump. For presidential records Trump was allowed to have.

Do NOT let anyone try to convince you the indictment of a sitting president’s political opponent has anything to do with the rule of law. This is how a banana republic operates.

The debt deal he made with the White House passed the Senate Thursday night thanks to Democrats. Only five of them voted against the deal while 46 got it passed with the help of 17 RINOs. 31 Republicans led by Senator Mike Lee voted against the deal that will suspend the debt ceiling until 2025 when Joe Biden signs it.

As Senator Lee noted on Twitter:

The McCarthy debt-ceiling bill got far more love from Senate Democrats than from Republicans, with 46 Dems and only 17 Republicans voting for it. Meanwhile, 31 Republicans and just 5 Dems voted against it. This has been unifying for Dems. Quite the opposite for Republicans.

The McCarthy debt-ceiling bill got far more love from Senate Democrats than from Republicans, with 46 Dems and only 17 Republicans voting for it. Meanwhile, 31 Republicans and just 5 Dems voted against it. This has been unifying for Dems. Quite the opposite for Republicans. pic.twitter.com/QWWos44JmM

— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) June 2, 2023

Ever since the deal was announced last week, McCarthy has been attempting to claim that he outmaneuvered Biden and got the historic debt deal Republicans wanted and Democrats hated. But either he was completely delusional and monumentally stupid or he’s been the ultimate pawn for the Uniparty Swamp all along.

These two possibilities are not mutually exclusive. They both may be true.

Now, Americans must contend with a federal government that has officially been unleashed. Without a debt ceiling and zero risk of default, they can start printing money like drunken sailors who have commandeered the U.S. Treasury Department’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

This is not your average case of kicking the can down the road. Considering the tenuous position the national and global economies have been in since the pandemic lockdowns decimated financial standards, removing one of the main tethers to fiscal responsibility means full-blown economic collapse is more likely than during any other moment of modern history.

Buckle up and stay frosty. We’re in for some massive turbulence in the years, months, and even weeks ahead.

The bill passed 68-29. Since there are 47 Democrats in the Senate and 3 Independents who caucus with Democrats, at least 18 Republicans voted to support the package.

Conservatives called the move during the lame-duck session a “stunning act of betrayal.” Democrats have had both branches of Congress and the presidency during all of 2022, conservatives say, but rushed to pass this budget bill only after Republicans won a House majority in November.

Since 1994, the House majority has changed four times. In each case, the outgoing majority didn’t pass an omnibus appropriations bill during the lame-duck session following the election. In each case, the outgoing majority left the hard work of legislating to the representatives the American people had just elected.

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., incoming chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, warned that Republicans would be voluntarily abandoning their ability to hold the Biden administration accountable for the next year.

The omnibus bill would fund the government through September 2023. It includes military funding for Ukraine, a ban on the Chinese-owned TikTok app on federal government devices, and millions in funding for “woke” earmarks such as LGBTQIA+ Pride Centers, a Michele Obama Trail in Georgia, and the TransLatin@ Coalition. The spending bill does not include the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal tax dollars from going to fund elective abortions.

Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberley Strassel noted that the omnibus package includes “dozens of pieces of stand-alone legislation” on issues such as retirement, public lands management, health care policy, electoral count reform, and aviation rules.

Although the House and Senate appropriations committees state that the omnibus bill would cost $1.7 trillion, Richard Stern, a senior policy analyst for budget policy at The Heritage Foundation, says the bill would cost at least $1.85 trillion in fiscal year 2023, which began Oct. 1. (The Daily Signal is The Heritage Foundation’s multimedia news organization.)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., defended the spending bill.

“Providing assistance for Ukrainians to defeat the Russians is the number one priority for the United States right now according to most Republicans,” McConnell said. “That’s how we see the challenges confronting the country at the moment.”

Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., defended the bill, saying that it would help Afghan refugees.

Critics, however, note that the omnibus spending package contains 6,825 pages: 4,155 pages of legislative text plus 2,670 pages of explanatory materials to instruct agencies on how to carry out the provisions. It also includes at least 4,000 earmarks to pay for the pet projects of senators and representatives.

“With this vote, these Republican senators have committed a stunning act of betrayal of their constituents and the American people,” Stern told The Daily Signal. “With less than two weeks until the new Congress, they have shamefully voted to deny the incoming conservative House majority the use of its power of the purse to rein in Biden and his cronies.”

“This omnibus will add to inflationary pressures, saddling the nation with at least another $20,000 per household in needless debt and will expand the power of the woke Left,” Stern added.

Matthew Dickerson, director of The Heritage Foundation’s budget center, also slammed the Senate vote.

“This massive omnibus bill will cost taxpayers about $1.9 trillion next year at a time when American families are hurting from high inflation and the government is already $31 trillion in debt,” Dickerson told The Daily Signal. “It’s filled with woke earmarks and advances the Left’s big-government policy agenda.”

“The 118th Congress needs to be committed to reversing the growth of harmful government spending and inflation,” he added, referring to the Congress that convenes Jan. 3.

Heritage Action for America, the leading think tank’s grassroots affiliate, announced that it would mark a vote on the omnibus spending bill as a “key vote” for its legislative scorecard, urging all members of Congress to vote “no” on the bill.

Article cross-posted from Daily Signal.

According to Breitbart:

A handful of Senate Republicans reportedly started talks with illegal aliens enrolled in and eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program as House and Senate Democrats, along with corporate special interest allies, hope to pass an amnesty in the lame-duck Congress.

This week, DACA illegal aliens and open borders activists descended on Washington, DC, in their efforts to lobby ten Senate Republicans to join Democrats in passing an amnesty — before the GOP takes control of the House — that would secure them green cards and, eventually, naturalized American citizenship.

According to Politico, Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Mike Lee (R-UT), Mike Rounds (R-SD), and Pat Toomey (R-PA) held meetings with DACA illegal aliens to discuss potential amnesty plans.

Toomey is out, so he can let his hair down. Cornyn and Rounds have four more years in their term. Lee just won in 2022. None of them can be held accountable by voters any time soon. That’s how the Uniparty Swamp operates.

And to those who think they’re rushing this through to keep Republicans in the House from blocking it, think again. This is about not forcing Republicans in the House to show their true colors. Kevin McCarthy and the moderate majority in the House don’t want to be called out by the Freedom Caucus. That’s it. If amnesty can’t get squeezed through during the lame duck session, we can expect McCarthy to come out in favor of it next year.