House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is taking flak from his own conference over his 11th-hour rush to secure another continuing resolution to fund the government, according to multiple reports.
With the deadline of midnight Friday to pass a CR to keep the government open through March 14 and Johnson's commitment to a 72-hour rule for lawmakers to review the legislation, one lawmaker called it a "dumpster fire" while another called it having to eat a "crap sandwich," The Hill reported.
Worse for conservative lawmakers, included in the CR is $100.4 billion in disaster aid and another $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers, turning the short-term funding bill into an omnibus, according to sources.
"It's a total dumpster fire. I think it's garbage," Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., told reporters. "This is what Washington, D.C., has done. This is why I ran for Congress, to try to stop this. And sadly, this is happening again."
Added Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas: "We get this negotiated crap, and we're forced to eat this crap sandwich. Why? Because freaking Christmas is right around the corner. It's the same dang thing every year. Legislate by crisis, legislate by calendar. Not legislate because it's the right thing to do."
Johnson defended the add-ons at a Tuesday press conference.
"This is a small CR that we had to add things to that were out of our control. We've got man-made disasters," Johnson said. "I wish it weren't necessary. I wish we hadn't had record hurricanes in the fall. And I wish our farmers were not in a bind so much that creditors are not able to lend to them."
Adding to the angst is that as of Tuesday morning, text of the CR hadn't been published, pushing the 72-hour window well into Friday. Many lawmakers were planning to leave Washington, D.C., on Thursday for Christmas recess.
"Same crap we already knew," one House Republican told the Washington Examiner. "No text. No timeline."
Another Republican, who was in Johnson's closed-door conference meeting Tuesday morning, told the Examiner that despite Johnson's pledge to give lawmakers the full 72-hour window for review, he "clearly is OK if we don't."
"I think that he can do better," Burlison said of Johnson, according to The Hill. "He can communicate better. The fact that we haven't seen the language today and we're supposed to vote on it this week is unacceptable."