The omnibus spending bill passed in the Senate on Thursday. As Ed and Jazz have written here, it is a monstrous disaster of a spending bill, laden with pork. The journey to passage in the Senate was full of wheeling and dealing. There was hope it would ultimately fail to come up for a vote, but no. All of the Democrats in the Senate voted for the 4,100 page bill and eighteen Republicans joined them, along with the two Democrats who call themselves Independents. It passed and moves on to the House for final approval.

It’s enough to turn your stomach. The omnibus bill put the American taxpayers on the hook for $1.7T.

This is a feel-good Friday post, though. So forgive me for the depressing beginning to this post and let me get on to the good part. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) responded to the bill with a video of himself delivering his own rendition of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. It’s classic Rand Paul and his long history of fiscal conservatism.

🎄 I wrote and performed my own scary version of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas 🎄 Enjoy! pic.twitter.com/IHI0uNyW0N

— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 20, 2022

It’s pretty perfect, if you ask me. He hit all the highlights of the insanity of running our government this way. So, who were the eighteen Republicans who played useful idiots to the big-spending Democrats and their two Independent pals? Here’s the list:

Roy Blunt (Missouri)
John Boozman (Arkansas)
Shelley Capito (West Virginia)
Susan Collins (Maine)
John Cornyn (Texas)
Tom Cotton (Arkansas)
Lindsey Graham (South Carolina)
Jim Inhofe (Oklahoma)
Mitch McConnell (Kentucky)
Jerry Moran (Kansas)
Lisa Murkowski (Alaska)
Rob Portman (Ohio)
Mitt Romney (Utah)
Mike Rounds (South Dakota)
Richard Shelby (Alabama)
John Thune (South Dakota)
Roger Wicker (Mississippi)
Todd Young (Indiana)

Did any of those names surprise you? I was a little surprised by Senators Cotton and Portman but I guess they voted in favor of it for the military defense spending components in the bill. Even Lindsey Graham said it’s no way to fund the Department of Defense yet he voted for it, saying it was better than the alternative. Was it though? I’m thinking it’s too bad the Republicans didn’t stick together and say no. Enough is enough. This is no way to run a government. Wait until the Republicans take over in January and demand they go back to regular order in the House.

Lots of items in the omnibus bill should have been stand-alone bills. There is everything but the kitchen sink in it and not one of the senators who voted on it had read it. Pelosi was telling members of the House that they will see what all is in it when it passes. Sound familiar? It’s the same thing she said when she rammed through Obamacare. Pass it to see what’s in it. It’s insane.

The omnibus includes $858 billion in defense spending and $773 billion in what’s referred to as non-defense spending. There is $45 billion in funding for Ukraine. One hundred billion here, another few hundred billions there, and pretty soon we’re talking real money. I’d like to blame it all on the inept president but, sadly, both parties are guilty of this malarkey. Republican presidents and Democrat presidents have seen this process move forward, continuing resolution after continuing resolution. It has to stop. Democrats won’t do it so the new House Republican majority has to be the grown-ups and get back to regular order.

As I mentioned above, some items should have been voted on separately, not mixed into the omnibus.

In passing the bill, senators also approved reforms to the Electoral Count Act that would clarify that the vice president’s role in presiding over Congress’ certification of the presidential election results is strictly ministerial and would require at least one-fifth of members of both chambers to object to the process–changes designed to prevent a repeat of former President Donald Trump and his allies’ attempts to contest the results in 2021.

Among the other notable provisions, the bill would reverse a pandemic-era policy that prevented states from kicking people out of Medicaid programs, which saw a 30% surge in enrollment during the Covid-19 pandemic.

There is $785M for migrant services like food and shelter. It is expected to go to sanctuary cities that are dealing with the surge of illegal aliens from the Biden border crisis. Sorry border state governors, you’ll still be on your own, pleading with the federal government to do its job and provide resources to secure the border.

There is $15B for 7,200 earmarks for pet projects of lawmakers. 7,2000 earmarks. Unbelievable. Mayor Pete’s Department of Transportation will fund a hiking trail named after Michelle Obama in Georgia, though she has no real connection to that state. Yeah, Mayor Pete’s planning another presidential run.

So, that’s where we are. We wait for the House to pass it and Biden to sign it. Not a great feel-good story but I appreciate Senator Paul mocking this disaster of a bill. It deserves it.