Congress averted a government shutdown, but the real fiscal fight is ahead

During his weekly news conference with reporters, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) made clear that his decision to fund the government with a stopgap plan was not an abandonment of his far-right bona fides, but simple recognition that a partisan proposal would never become law. “I’m one of the arch conservatives, okay? And I want to cut spending right now. … But when we have a three-vote majority — because we do right now — we don’t have the votes to be able to advance that,” Johnson said in response to the House Freedom Caucus public rebukes of his proposal. “… We are not surrendering, we’re fighting. But you have to be wise about choosing the fights. You’ve got to fight fights that you can win.”

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