Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for October 9, 2025:
Arizona Democrat still can’t get sworn in.
Senate defeats bid to block drug boat attacks.
Bad vibes for reporters at the Pentagon.
CAPITOL HILL.
I want to scream. The fight over a government shutdown took a somewhat chippy turn on Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol. There were multiple hallway disputes, more yelling on the House floor, and zero evidence of any progress to reopen the federal government. It was not a good day. Let’s start with the hallway dustups.
HALLWAYS.
The first spat took place outside the offices of House Speaker Mike Johnson. The two Democratic Senators from Arizona came there to speak to reporters - criticizing Republicans over the shutdown and the GOP refusal to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ). Then Speaker Johnson walked out.
SHOWTIME.
“Do you want me to answer your question?” Speaker Johnson said in an aggravated tone at one point, after he surprised Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ). All three of them got in their licks as reporters stood wide-eyed before them.
JEFFRIES.
In the afternoon, Republicans returned the favor. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) - who can be seen over Speaker Johnson’s shoulder above - ambushed House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries in the hallway, after being denied entrance into a Jeffries news conference. The two New Yorkers went toe-to-toe in front of reporters for about five minutes.
EMPIRE STATE.
“I confronted him as to why he voted no on a clean CR to keep the government open for the American people,” Lawler said, happily tweeting out the video of their hallway dustup. “He’s playing political games with people’s livelihoods” Lawler added. “It’s disgraceful.”
BROOKLYN QUEENS.
“Some random Republican tried to come for me in the Halls of Congress,” Jeffries tweeted last night, as Democrats mocked Lawler. “Things didn’t work out well for him.”
FUNDRAISING.
Lawler wasted no time turning that into an appeal for money. “Even with the Government shut down, look what Mike is doing,” stated Lawler’s latest fundraising appeal, which
included video
of his hallway spat with Jeffries.
FIREWORKS.
Many of you probably find these hallway snippets to be somewhat captivating and even entertaining, especially as you root on your political team. It’s a reflection of the in-your-face politics associated with social media. (You won’t be surprised that I find it somewhat horrifying.)
CONFLICT.
Why do I worry about these episodes in the hallways on Wednesday? Because it doesn’t take much to go from a snippy encounter to something worse. The last thing we need is for lawmakers to ambush each other in the Capitol - with all of it being captured on video.
HISTORY.
Most Americans don’t know the stories of Roger Griswold, Laurence Keitt, or Lovell Rousseau. They might know about the caning of Charles Sumner, but couldn’t name Preston Brooks. They don’t know Henry Foote pulled out a gun on the Senate floor. Hopefully we won’t add to those stories anytime soon.
GRIJALVA.
It wasn’t just in the hallways. There was also more yelling on the House floor yesterday over the GOP refusal to swear in the newest member of the House, Democrat Adelita Grijalva of Arizona. Rep. Russ Fulcher (R-ID) quickly gaveled the House out of session until Friday, ignoring shouts from Democrats about Grijalva’s election limbo.
EPSTEIN.
Democrats say the GOP stalling is all about delaying any vote on a bill related to the sex trafficking investigation of Jeffrey Epstein - and his possible ties to President Trump. Grijalva would be the key 218th signature for that bill.
DEMS.
“Speaker Johnson is too busy covering up the Epstein files and silencing voters to do his job,” said Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX). “This is not normal,” added Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN). “What do Republicans have to hide?”
FOUR CORNERS.
Speaker Johnson continues to make up reasons why Grijalva hasn’t been sworn in. “Miss Grijalva has not yet had a scheduled date because she was elected after the House was out of session,” the Speaker told Arizona’s Senators yesterday. (Narrator: That does not matter one bit.)
THIS YEAR.
Back on April 2, Speaker Johnson swore in two Republicans who had been elected a day earlier - doing it in a pro forma session, when there was no legislative business. But that was for the GOP - and Grijalva is not.
PRECEDENT.
I’m going to say this again. Delaying the Grijalva swearing-in is a very bad move by Speaker Johnson. Democrats will try to do something like this in retaliation in the future. This is not what the Congress needs. She won an election and deserves to be seated immediately.
HOUSE RULES NERD NOTE.
House Democrats shot this video of what it looked like as they tried to get recognized on the House floor. This kind of video is completely against the rules of the House - but as with most things these days, no one cares about the rules - it’s all about pushing the envelope.
NEXT WEEK.
Will the House come back into session next week? We don’t know that answer yet - but it won’t surprise me one bit to see the House stay on break for yet another week. That possibility isn’t sitting well with some Republicans, who know there is a lot of unfinished government funding work left for the House.
GOLDEN.
“The entire reason a CR is necessary is that Congress has not done its job in passing a timely budget,” said Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA). “The Speaker shouldn’t even think about cancelling session for a third straight week.”
STATUS OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are 12 government funding bills. The House has approved 3 of those 12. That means 9 funding measures still need a full House vote:
Agriculture-FDA
Commerce-Justice-Science
Financial Services
Homeland Security
Interior-Environment
Labor-HHS-Education
Legislative Branch
State-Foreign Ops
Transportation-HUD
DEADLINE.
Remember, the deadline for action on government funding was October 1, which was the start of the new fiscal year. Because that work was not finished on time (again), a temporary funding bill (CR) is needed. The failure to approve that measure is why there is a shutdown. You can’t pass those bills from home.
SHUTDOWN UPDATE.
For a sixth time on Wednesday, Senate Democrats - plus GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky - voted to filibuster a House-passed 7-week temporary funding bill. The votes again stayed the same in the Senate, as both sides blamed the other for the impasse. There will be another vote this afternoon, on the 9th day of this shutdown.
CHICKEN-EGG.
When we talk to Senators, the messages remain the same. Republicans say they’re not negotiating until the government has been reopened. Democrats say they’re not voting to fund the government until they see some progress on extending subsidies for the Obama health law.
TALKS.
“I think people need to sit down and talk to each other,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). “So far, the President’s been unwilling to talk.” “There is nothing Republican leaders are doing that even suggests they are serious about ending the shutdown,” added Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA).
MORNING JOURNAL.
For the first time in nearly 25 years, a sitting Speaker of the House will go on C-SPAN today to take calls, at 8:30 am. That should be a lively segment with House Speaker Mike Johnson.
BEHIND THE SCENES.
Just before Wednesday’s Senate vote on a temporary funding bill, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer met with reporters up in the Senate Press Gallery. No TV cameras are allowed in this space for newspaper reporters, which is the oldest area in the Capitol set aside for journalists.
MESSAGE.
Schumer repeatedly slammed House Speaker Mike Johnson, but once again refused to get into the weeds of what a possible deal would look like on extending the expiring subsidies for the Obama health law. “Step one to any possible good serious solution is they sit down and talk to us in a serious way,” Schumer said.
WAR POWERS.
The Senate last night defeated an effort to use the War Powers act to block President Trump’s use of military force against drug boats in the Caribbean. The vote was 48-51 against the measure. Two Republicans - Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted for the plan. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) voted against it.
TRUMP DOCTRINE.
In a lengthy speech, Sen. Paul railed against the attacks, arguing there was absolutely no proof that any of the boats were actually carrying drugs. “Can you imagine a doctrine in which we just blow up ships off of Miami and say, ‘whoops,’ if they didn’t have any drugs on board?” Paul said.
GOP.
But most Republicans stuck with the White House, not worrying about these unusual military attacks. “Instead of supporting efforts to stop it at the source and keep our communities safe, Senate Democrats are trying to tie the President’s hands,” said Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS).
PENTAGON PRESS.
Speaking of the Pentagon, this item should be concerning to all Americans. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is moving to not only restrict reporters at the Pentagon, but is also threatening to strip credentials from journalists - unless they agree to only report news which has been pre-approved by the military.
PRESS.
“The Pentagon is still asking us to affirm in writing our ‘understanding’ of policies that appear designed to stifle a free press and potentially expose us to prosecution for simply doing our jobs,” the Pentagon Press Association said in a Wednesday statement. “The policy conveys an unprecedented message of intimidation.”
PRESS ROOM.
Pentagon reporters have also found out that the plan is to move news organizations out of the space set aside for journalists in the building. That would be like the House and Senate pushing reporters out of the press galleries, or the White House shutting down the press room.
CREDENTIALS.
Many years ago, I had Pentagon press credentials. It was so cool to go over there, hang out in the press room, talk to the beat reporters, and cover
...
Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for October 9, 2025:
Arizona Democrat still can’t get sworn in.
Senate defeats bid to block drug boat attacks.
Bad vibes for reporters at the Pentagon.
CAPITOL HILL.
I want to scream. The fight over a government shutdown took a somewhat chippy turn on Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol. There were multiple hallway disputes, more yelling on the House floor, and zero evidence of any progress to reopen the federal government. It was not a good day. Let’s start with the hallway dustups.
HALLWAYS.
The first spat took place outside the offices of House Speaker Mike Johnson. The two Democratic Senators from Arizona came there to speak to reporters - criticizing Republicans over the shutdown and the GOP refusal to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ). Then Speaker Johnson walked out.
SHOWTIME.
“Do you want me to answer your question?” Speaker Johnson said in an aggravated tone at one point, after he surprised Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ). All three of them got in their licks as reporters stood wide-eyed before them.
JEFFRIES.
In the afternoon, Republicans returned the favor. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) - who can be seen over Speaker Johnson’s shoulder above - ambushed House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries in the hallway, after being denied entrance into a Jeffries news conference. The two New Yorkers went toe-to-toe in front of reporters for about five minutes.
EMPIRE STATE.
“I confronted him as to why he voted no on a clean CR to keep the government open for the American people,” Lawler said, happily tweeting out the video of their hallway dustup. “He’s playing political games with people’s livelihoods” Lawler added. “It’s disgraceful.”
BROOKLYN QUEENS.
“Some random Republican tried to come for me in the Halls of Congress,” Jeffries tweeted last night, as Democrats mocked Lawler. “Things didn’t work out well for him.”
FUNDRAISING.
Lawler wasted no time turning that into an appeal for money. “Even with the Government shut down, look what Mike is doing,” stated Lawler’s latest fundraising appeal, which
included video
of his hallway spat with Jeffries.
FIREWORKS.
Many of you probably find these hallway snippets to be somewhat captivating and even entertaining, especially as you root on your political team. It’s a reflection of the in-your-face politics associated with social media. (You won’t be surprised that I find it somewhat horrifying.)
CONFLICT.
Why do I worry about these episodes in the hallways on Wednesday? Because it doesn’t take much to go from a snippy encounter to something worse. The last thing we need is for lawmakers to ambush each other in the Capitol - with all of it being captured on video.
HISTORY.
Most Americans don’t know the stories of Roger Griswold, Laurence Keitt, or Lovell Rousseau. They might know about the caning of Charles Sumner, but couldn’t name Preston Brooks. They don’t know Henry Foote pulled out a gun on the Senate floor. Hopefully we won’t add to those stories anytime soon.
GRIJALVA.
It wasn’t just in the hallways. There was also more yelling on the House floor yesterday over the GOP refusal to swear in the newest member of the House, Democrat Adelita Grijalva of Arizona. Rep. Russ Fulcher (R-ID) quickly gaveled the House out of session until Friday, ignoring shouts from Democrats about Grijalva’s election limbo.
EPSTEIN.
Democrats say the GOP stalling is all about delaying any vote on a bill related to the sex trafficking investigation of Jeffrey Epstein - and his possible ties to President Trump. Grijalva would be the key 218th signature for that bill.
DEMS.
“Speaker Johnson is too busy covering up the Epstein files and silencing voters to do his job,” said Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX). “This is not normal,” added Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN). “What do Republicans have to hide?”
FOUR CORNERS.
Speaker Johnson continues to make up reasons why Grijalva hasn’t been sworn in. “Miss Grijalva has not yet had a scheduled date because she was elected after the House was out of session,” the Speaker told Arizona’s Senators yesterday. (Narrator: That does not matter one bit.)
THIS YEAR.
Back on April 2, Speaker Johnson swore in two Republicans who had been elected a day earlier - doing it in a pro forma session, when there was no legislative business. But that was for the GOP - and Grijalva is not.
PRECEDENT.
I’m going to say this again. Delaying the Grijalva swearing-in is a very bad move by Speaker Johnson. Democrats will try to do something like this in retaliation in the future. This is not what the Congress needs. She won an election and deserves to be seated immediately.
HOUSE RULES NERD NOTE.
House Democrats shot this video of what it looked like as they tried to get recognized on the House floor. This kind of video is completely against the rules of the House - but as with most things these days, no one cares about the rules - it’s all about pushing the envelope.
NEXT WEEK.
Will the House come back into session next week? We don’t know that answer yet - but it won’t surprise me one bit to see the House stay on break for yet another week. That possibility isn’t sitting well with some Republicans, who know there is a lot of unfinished government funding work left for the House.
GOLDEN.
“The entire reason a CR is necessary is that Congress has not done its job in passing a timely budget,” said Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA). “The Speaker shouldn’t even think about cancelling session for a third straight week.”
STATUS OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are 12 government funding bills. The House has approved 3 of those 12. That means 9 funding measures still need a full House vote:
Agriculture-FDA
Commerce-Justice-Science
Financial Services
Homeland Security
Interior-Environment
Labor-HHS-Education
Legislative Branch
State-Foreign Ops
Transportation-HUD
DEADLINE.
Remember, the deadline for action on government funding was October 1, which was the start of the new fiscal year. Because that work was not finished on time (again), a temporary funding bill (CR) is needed. The failure to approve that measure is why there is a shutdown. You can’t pass those bills from home.
SHUTDOWN UPDATE.
For a sixth time on Wednesday, Senate Democrats - plus GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky - voted to filibuster a House-passed 7-week temporary funding bill. The votes again stayed the same in the Senate, as both sides blamed the other for the impasse. There will be another vote this afternoon, on the 9th day of this shutdown.
CHICKEN-EGG.
When we talk to Senators, the messages remain the same. Republicans say they’re not negotiating until the government has been reopened. Democrats say they’re not voting to fund the government until they see some progress on extending subsidies for the Obama health law.
TALKS.
“I think people need to sit down and talk to each other,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). “So far, the President’s been unwilling to talk.” “There is nothing Republican leaders are doing that even suggests they are serious about ending the shutdown,” added Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA).
MORNING JOURNAL.
For the first time in nearly 25 years, a sitting Speaker of the House will go on C-SPAN today to take calls, at 8:30 am. That should be a lively segment with House Speaker Mike Johnson.
BEHIND THE SCENES.
Just before Wednesday’s Senate vote on a temporary funding bill, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer met with reporters up in the Senate Press Gallery. No TV cameras are allowed in this space for newspaper reporters, which is the oldest area in the Capitol set aside for journalists.
MESSAGE.
Schumer repeatedly slammed House Speaker Mike Johnson, but once again refused to get into the weeds of what a possible deal would look like on extending the expiring subsidies for the Obama health law. “Step one to any possible good serious solution is they sit down and talk to us in a serious way,” Schumer said.
WAR POWERS.
The Senate last night defeated an effort to use the War Powers act to block President Trump’s use of military force against drug boats in the Caribbean. The vote was 48-51 against the measure. Two Republicans - Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted for the plan. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) voted against it.
TRUMP DOCTRINE.
In a lengthy speech, Sen. Paul railed against the attacks, arguing there was absolutely no proof that any of the boats were actually carrying drugs. “Can you imagine a doctrine in which we just blow up ships off of Miami and say, ‘whoops,’ if they didn’t have any drugs on board?” Paul said.
GOP.
But most Republicans stuck with the White House, not worrying about these unusual military attacks. “Instead of supporting efforts to stop it at the source and keep our communities safe, Senate Democrats are trying to tie the President’s hands,” said Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS).
PENTAGON PRESS.
Speaking of the Pentagon, this item should be concerning to all Americans. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is moving to not only restrict reporters at the Pentagon, but is also threatening to strip credentials from journalists - unless they agree to only report news which has been pre-approved by the military.
PRESS.
“The Pentagon is still asking us to affirm in writing our ‘understanding’ of policies that appear designed to stifle a free press and potentially expose us to prosecution for simply doing our jobs,” the Pentagon Press Association said in a Wednesday statement. “The policy conveys an unprecedented message of intimidation.”
PRESS ROOM.
Pentagon reporters have also found out that the plan is to move news organizations out of the space set aside for journalists in the building. That would be like the House and Senate pushing reporters out of the press galleries, or the White House shutting down the press room.
CREDENTIALS.
Many years ago, I had Pentagon press credentials. It was so cool to go over there, hang out in the press room, talk to the beat reporters, and cover a briefing. What’s happening now sounds like something that would take place in a country which doesn’t value a free press.
REPORTERS.
Don’t sleep on this one folks. There is only one reason that an arm of government would try so hard to crack down on reporters for writing truthful stories about the military. You know what that reason is:
Leave a comment
SENATE FLOOR.
I always feel bad for the poor Senate staffers who get brought out on the floor and must sit silently - and without any facial expression - while their boss gives a speech. Especially when your Senator has a big ass poster board next to you.
MUSE OF HISTORY.
October 9, 1888. House-Senate negotiators on this date
unveiled a deal
to fund a home in Utah Territory for young women and their kids who renounced polygamy. “When said building shall have been completed and furnished it shall be placed in the custody of the Industrial Christian Home Association of Utah Territory to be used and occupied by it for the purpose of aiding in the suppression of polygamy,” the plan read.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House will not have votes before October 14.
The Senate convenes at 10 am.
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