Heckuva job, Orange Man.
Last week, the House
experienced yet another meltdown thanks to the "leadership" of Speaker John Boehner, one of the most embarrassing yet as his Republican conference stood in support of the Confederate flag, even as it was being lowered from the grounds of the very Republican South Carolina statehouse. Just days before, the House had quietly and unanimously approved a measure banning the display and sale of the flag in National Parks. Southern Republicans were furious, and at their behest, leadership added an amendment to the Interior Department spending bill reversing it. Outrage from Democrats and public shaming resulted in Boehner pulling the spending bill indefinitely. Now his big screwup, designed to appease the problem children in his conference, has
jeopardized more spending bills, as the flag continues to be a point of contention.
The House was originally slated to consider the 2016 spending bill for Financial Services next week, but the odds are now low for it hitting the floor.
Republicans are worried that Democrats could try to offer more amendments related to the display of the Confederate flag that could again tie the GOP into knots. […]
The House had been plowing rapidly through the annual appropriations process over the last few months, having passed six out of 12 to date. But House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers's (R-Ky.) goal of passing all 12 individual spending bills before the August recess looks unlikely.
"It's going to be next to impossible," Rogers acknowledged Friday.
What had been a big challenge before last week's fiasco has now become nearly impossible. This time around, it's entirely of Boehner's own making. He and fellow leader Mitch McConnell, over in the Senate, are already facing Democratic opposition as a result of their refusal to have a budget summit with Democrats, but this unforced error has just made his job even more complicated.