How Harvey Gave Congressional Republicans the Excuse They Wanted
Republicans have spent most of 2017 fighting among themselves. Conservatives have jousted with moderates. Both factions have tangled with party leaders. And President Trump has bickered with just about all of them.
September was shaping up to be the nastiest brawl of all. With the end of the fiscal year approaching, Congress faces a series of deadlines that had promised to be a nightmare for a GOP that has yet to find its way as a governing party. Bills to fund the government; raise the debt ceiling; and reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Flood Insurance Program, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program are all due by September 30. And all of them carried divisions not only between Republicans and Democrats but within the GOP itself. That’s on top of the GOP’s already delayed attempt to
