On Monday, Politico had a
pretty brutal story about how House Republican leadership was purposefully delaying work on the farm bill—despite the agricultural crisis befalling the nation with two-thirds of the country in drought—because it was interfering with political messaging leading up to the election.
Apparently, that story created some more bad press and maybe some bad feeling among Republican farm-state members, because leadership sent out the number three House GOP lawmaker, whip Kevin McCarthy, to try to do some damage control. Bottom line, though, they still don't have real plans to bring up the bill any time soon.
A top House Republican said there is still no plan to bring up a bipartisan farm bill, but conceded the chamber might have to pass legislation to help farmers affected by a crippling drought. [...]
"It's our intention to get it done," McCarthy told reporters in his Capitol office, noting that Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is opposed to the bill. "So we have to make sure we have the votes, just like [the] transportation bill didn't get done the day it came out of committee either. We have to educate the members and you have to be able to present it. It's our intention to get the farm bill done."
Quite the sense of urgency there, huh? Note that Whip McCarthy says nothing about actually whipping votes for the bill. So for the
first time in modern history, Congress is essentially blocking a farm bill solely because the politics of it are too complicated for the speaker to deal with.
Worst. Congress. Ever.
Put the speaker's gavel back in Nancy Pelosi's hand.