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Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News.

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Speaker 2: We have just gotten the gavel. The House has officially

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Speaker 2: passed this stopgap funding measure that will keep the government

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Speaker 2: funded through March fourteenth of next year. The tally three

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Speaker 2: hundred and sixty six votes for this measure, only thirty

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Speaker 2: four against. Not a single one of those votes against

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Speaker 2: came from a Democrat. Ultimately, it was the Democrats who

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Speaker 2: provided more votes to get this over the finish line,

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Speaker 2: one hundred and ninety six Democratic members voting yes compared

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Speaker 2: to one hundred and seventy Republicans. I want to come

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Speaker 2: back to our political panel, Janie Shanzeno and Lester months

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Speaker 2: in here. Lester, there were thirty eight Republicans who last

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Speaker 2: night voted down the measure inclusive of the debt ceiling.

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Speaker 2: Thirty four Republicans voted down this today with the debt

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Speaker 2: ceiling taken out, it only changed four minds on that front.

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Speaker 2: What does that signal to you.

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Speaker 3: Well, it also changed the minds of all the Democrats.

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Speaker 2: Fair enough, Yes, right, And that's.

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Speaker 3: Really the key here. And so Democrats are clearly take

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Speaker 3: Genie's earlier points on this exact question to heart. Democrats

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Speaker 3: want to kind of force the votes next year and

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Speaker 3: maximize their leverage over these tax issues which they are

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Speaker 3: clearly going to be targeting. So you're starting to see

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Speaker 3: the Democrats marshal their forces behind an agenda, thinking coherently

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Speaker 3: about what that means, being willing to take some tough

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Speaker 3: votes to get that done. And you saw those I

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Speaker 3: think there was one present vote among the Democrats that

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Speaker 3: there's one one Democrat who didn't vote favor this thing.

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Speaker 3: So they have near total unanimity. They've they've got some

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Speaker 3: real leadership. The question is going to be I think

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Speaker 3: next year, can Senator Thun and Speaker Johnson do the

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Speaker 3: same thing that McConnell and Ryan did eight years ago

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Speaker 3: when they really guided the president's domestic agenda through Congress.

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Speaker 3: Can these new leadership members do something like that next year?

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Speaker 3: It's going to be a real challenge for him.

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Speaker 2: Well, So, Genie, this is an excellent point that Lester

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Speaker 2: is making, this notion that by and large we do

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Speaker 2: see the Democrats sticking together and ultimately whatever Hawking Jeffrey

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Speaker 2: says is usually what goes. And I wonder if you

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Speaker 2: think that is going to be as easy to maintain

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Speaker 2: when they are being asked to take votes on things

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Speaker 2: like securing the border, something that was a weak spot

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Speaker 2: for Democrats, frontline Democrats especially, and the last election and

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Speaker 2: likely will be again in twenty twenty six.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I think we've seen Hakim Jeffries emerge as a

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Speaker 1: very strong leader, following you know, the suit of Nancy Pelosi,

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Speaker 1: who's also you know, one of the best that we've had.

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Speaker 1: And you know, the reality is is that he does

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Speaker 1: have the respect of his caucus, and we've seen over

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Speaker 1: and over again, in almost lockstep to Lester's point, that

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Speaker 1: they do listen to his advice and that votes very

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Speaker 1: well for him. It's not going to be easy, but

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Speaker 1: I will say it is easier obviously to be in

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Speaker 1: the minority than it is to be in the majority.

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Speaker 1: So you know, it may be a different story if

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Speaker 1: they took over the majority, But because they're in the minority,

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Speaker 1: I think they will stick together next year. And the

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Speaker 1: reality is is that it is going to be so

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Speaker 1: close next year that Mike Johnson is going to need

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Speaker 1: them again and that's not going to sit well with

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Speaker 1: people like Andy Biggs and Chip Roy and many others

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Speaker 1: on the Republican side. And the question is how does

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Speaker 1: Donald Trump handle this particularly? How does he handle it

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Speaker 1: when somebody like Elon Musk is controlling the largest megaphone

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Speaker 1: maybe we have out there in terms of the Republican media,

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Speaker 1: and when he shouts, everybody listens. That's going to be

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Speaker 1: really fascinating to watch. Well.

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Speaker 2: Elon Musk's counterpart and in leading this new government Department

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Speaker 2: of Government Efficiency, has just posted his thoughts on x

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Speaker 2: vik Ramaswami, saying, quote, the last seventy two hours highlighted

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Speaker 2: the positive impact that DOGE can have, but it also

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Speaker 2: laid bare the massive lift ahead next year. We're ready

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Speaker 2: for it, Lester, Both of Ake and Elon Musk aren't

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Speaker 2: exactly ultra familiar with Washington. Do you really think they

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Speaker 2: are ready for it?

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Speaker 1: No?

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Speaker 3: But I do like the way everyone is kind of

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Speaker 3: dumping their hopes and dreams into the DOGE. Right. Oh,

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Speaker 3: this problem will be fixed next year with DOGE. Oh,

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Speaker 3: DOGE has a huge opportunity. DOGE has already affected things.

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Speaker 3: DOSEH isn't really even a thing yet, it does certainly

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Speaker 3: have some potential. Their real work won't be done for

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Speaker 3: a year and a half. Will this still matter then?

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Speaker 3: Will President Trump still have the same relationship with those two.

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Speaker 3: That's a big question. So I think it's mostly hopes

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Speaker 3: and dreams right now, but it certainly could become reality

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Speaker 3: if people actually sit down look at it. Interestingly, there

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Speaker 3: was a Tom Cole article on the Wall Street Journal

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Speaker 3: this morning talking about they're going to have to look

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Speaker 3: at entitlements if they really want to get close to

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Speaker 3: a balanced budget. There's real truth in that, and that's

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Speaker 3: not really something Republicans want to tackle yet.

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Speaker 2: Well, when I was speaking with Congressman Beth Van Dyne

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Speaker 2: just a moment ago, she was talking about how they said, yes,

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Speaker 2: we're going to raise the debt ceiling, but we're going

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Speaker 2: to cut two and a half trillion dollars in spending

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Speaker 2: in order to offset that, and Megan schullly mathematically that

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Speaker 2: probably doesn't work if you're going to not be touching

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Speaker 2: Social Security and Medica, and as does not two point

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Speaker 2: five trillion is more than the federal discussion your budget

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Speaker 2: on an annual basis. So to put it in perspective,

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Speaker 2: the Defense Department is, you know, creeping up to a

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Speaker 2: trillion when you factor in emergency spending, and everything else

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Speaker 2: is dwarfed in comparison. So finding that means digging deep

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Speaker 2: into entitlements. And that's when I think you're going to see,

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Speaker 2: particularly House members and senators who are up for election

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Speaker 2: in twenty six really getting nervous because that Social Security

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Speaker 2: is the third rail, and there are a lot of

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Speaker 2: weird rules about how we can legislate on Social Security

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Speaker 2: and whether or not it can be part of this

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Speaker 2: budget deal, whether it has to be dealt with separately,

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Speaker 2: but it is. You know, when you're talking about entitlements,

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Speaker 2: you're not just talking about Social Security, You're talking about Medicare,

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Speaker 2: you're talking about Medicaid, and you're talking about veterans benefits,

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Speaker 2: which is something that lawmakers are very loath to you know,

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Speaker 2: send well. But that doesn't mean that Ramaswami and Musk

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Speaker 2: might not recommend it. But at the end of the day,

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Speaker 2: and Lester was alluding to this, they are not elected

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Speaker 2: members of the US government. They can only do recommendations. Technically.

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Speaker 2: Have we not learned this week though, that their words

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Speaker 2: ultimately can matter to legislation even before they've made their

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Speaker 2: doge recommendations.

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Speaker 4: Yes and no. Right, so Musk has talted you know,

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Speaker 4: look at the you know, fifteen hundred page bill. You know,

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Speaker 4: versus this one hundred and forty or however many page

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Speaker 4: bill it is, and looking at the differences between the size,

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Speaker 4: the fact of the matter is the majority of that

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Speaker 4: spending is still in there. And if that is what

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Speaker 4: DOGE is going after that one hundred and ten billion

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Speaker 4: for farmers and for disaster aid, you know, tells you

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Speaker 4: something that lawmakers were not going to cut that because

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Speaker 4: that affects people's lives in their districts and in their states.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, And Genie, we just have about a minute or

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Speaker 2: two left here, but considering this is our last evening

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Speaker 2: addition of balance and power of the year twenty twenty four,

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Speaker 2: and we are it like this with a down to

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Speaker 2: the wire vote basically trying to avert a government shutdown

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Speaker 2: that the Senate has to still act on. Given everything

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Speaker 2: that has gone down in this year, does this surprise

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Speaker 2: you in the slightest that we ended up in this

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Speaker 2: moment at the very end.

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Speaker 1: Of it, not at all, Although I am through that

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Speaker 1: they did pass the government. It keeps it open. People

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Speaker 1: can go home for the holidays, including you, Kaylee, who

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Speaker 1: deserves a holiday and arrest. But you know, this is

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Speaker 1: the one hundred and eighteenth That's how it's been from

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Speaker 1: the very very start, and it has continued this way.

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Speaker 1: I would say I want to be optimistic and say

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Speaker 1: the one hundred and nineteenth is going to be different,

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Speaker 1: but mathematically, and this is a game of numbers, can't

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Speaker 1: imagine how it could be that much different.

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Speaker 2: All right, final question to all three of you, Genie,

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Speaker 2: will the Senate be able to pass this measure by midnight? Yes?

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Speaker 1: They will. Meghan just explained it.

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Speaker 2: Thank you Meghan, and Meghan your answer is still yes.

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Speaker 2: I'm assuming I hope, so we all hope.

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Speaker 3: So.

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Speaker 2: Lester mumpson.

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Speaker 3: Final word to you, also yes, but there's going to

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Speaker 3: be some votes on Lee and or Ram Paul amendments.

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Speaker 2: Megan predicted that one as well. Thank you so much

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Speaker 2: to all three of you for joining me as we

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Speaker 2: have worked through this breaking news in Congress as we

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Speaker 2: work to avert a government shutdown. Megan Scully, who leads

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Speaker 2: our capital influence team here in Washington, Genie Shanzeno, and

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Speaker 2: Lester months in my political panel this evening, Thank you

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Speaker 2: so much again. The stopgap funding measure to keep the

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Speaker 2: government funded through March fourteenth of next year has passed

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Speaker 2: the House by a wide bipartisan margin, more Democrats putting

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Speaker 2: up votes for it,