On Wednesday morning, Democrats attempted to send the 2026 budget back to committee but lost the vote by a single member's absence. After the vote, members began debating the bill, but Republicans made one significant mistake that could delay passage of the bill.
As Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman pointed out on X, in drafting the rule for the vote, Republicans "forgot to order the previous question." In parliamentary procedure, you ask for a special rule to order the previous question, stopping future debate whenever Republicans want.
"Without ordering the previous question, Speaker Johnson doesn't have an escape hatch if he starts debate on the bill," said Sherman. "Meaning, they have to vote on the bill once they get onto it. Johnson is probably going to want to fix this with an amendment on the floor when they begin considering the rule. But they will need a majority to change the rule."
There are eight Republican absences and one Democratic absence.
Meanwhile, members of the Congressional Black Caucus have lined up for what is called a "Conga Line" on the House floor, which Sherman also posted on X.
That means the list of "25 and counting" members will request "unanimous consent to insert statements of opposition into the record" regarding the budget reconciliation bill. Doing this allows Democrats to add further delays to the floor debate without taking time away from their side's debates.
Sherman explained that it "could slow the floor down."
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (AK) was ultimately one of the deciding votes to pass the budget out of the Senate on Tuesday. In a statement following the vote, she said she didn't like the bill she approved and hopes the House fixes some of the problems.
