Criticize

Lawmakers from both sides criticize Johnson for handling of spending bill and inclusion of pay increases

From CNN’s Manu Raju, Ali Main and Sarah Davis

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle expressed concerns about a multi-billion dollar end-of-the-year funding bill, including a provision that would give them pay raises for the first time since 2009. House Speaker Mike Johnson is attempting to pass the legislation with a slim majority and retain support from his party.

Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, the first Republican to publicly say he won’t back Johnson for speaker in the new Congress, said he was frustrated with concessions the GOP leader made in negotiating the bill.

“We just won the elections. We have a mandate, and he’s giving away the farm,” he said, adding that “a 30-page bill has become a 1,500-page bill full of pork and legislative changes to laws.”

Republican Rep. Tim Burchett acknowledged Johnson has been “dealt a tough deck of cards” because conservatives are “always” angry about short-term funding negotiations. “We go through the same charade every time. We always say we’re going to bring everybody to the table, and we don’t do it. Or if we do, they bring them to the table, and they just don’t listen,” the Tennessee lawmaker said.

Republican Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania said he thinks not only are the “optics wrong” for giving lawmakers a pay raise, but the “timing is bad.”

“We can’t have a shutdown. But we shouldn’t be using this as a vehicle to make such a disparate policy without the necessary public input,” he continued, before saying that he would not vote for the bill.

Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz acknowledged the complexity of having to vote on a massive spending bill with unpopular provisions, saying “if it was an up or down vote on (the cost of living adjustment), I would vote against it.” But, the Florida Democrat noted if he voted against the bill, then communities in his state devastated by hurricanes would not get more disaster aid.

“That’s the problem. why everyone’s complaining about these big packages. You’ve got to take the bad with the good,” he said.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a New Jersey Democrat who is running for governor in her state, said she understands the concerns of members who are worried about supporting their families, but “I do realize that we also have to take into account people across the country who are very frustrated with Congress’s performance.”