by Allum Bokhari and Matthew Boyle at Breitbart
Over objections from House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, the likely next speaker of the House come January 3 of next year, other congressional leaders acquiesced to lobbyist pressure and agreed to include the JCPA in the base text of the NDAA. McCarthy was the only member of congressional leadership to fight back against the inclusion, but was overruled three to one after McConnell caved.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) delivers remarks during the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 19, 2022. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks on the House floor at the Capitol in Washington, November 17, 2022. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)
The JCPA has absolutely nothing to do with national defense, so the move—a swan song of sorts for Pelosi, who just announced she is leaving congressional leadership but retaining her House seat after Democrats lost the majority to the GOP in the midterm elections—is an egregious step for an outgoing leader of the past against precedent as the NDAA has generally been reserved just for national security matters.
Proponents of the JCPA have been struggling for over a year to move the controversial proposal through Congress, hitting roadblocks every step of the way in committee hearings and fierce opposition from Republicans like McCarthy and others including Jim Jordan, Steve Scalise, Marsha Blackburn, Tom Cotton, and more.
That’s why lobbyists supporting the bill on behalf of deep-pocketed industry interests zoned in on two must-pass legislative vehicles in this lame duck session of Congress as last ditch efforts to pass it before the GOP formally takes control of the House next year: the NDAA or a spending bill like an omnibus spending bill currently also being negotiated.
But because the NDAA is proving to be more of a lift than previously thought,…
Continue Reading