Tom Kean Jr. couldn’t be more like a duck if he started to quack
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (front right) speaks to Rep. Kevin McCarthy (front left) in the House Chamber as Rep. Tom Kean Jr sits in the row behind them
In response to the unexpected terrorist attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, the Defense Department has mobilized additional resources, including an aircraft carrier strike group, air defenses, fighter jets, and hundreds of troops to the Middle East. The goal is to prevent the conflict from escalating into a regional war. However, a major roadblock has emerged: Congressional dysfunction has left the Pentagon without the necessary funds to cover the substantial troop buildup.
The military, like other federal agencies, is currently operating under a temporary funding measure that freezes spending at the previous year's levels. This has forced the Pentagon to divert funds from existing operations and maintenance accounts to finance the Middle East troop movements, according to DOD spokesperson Chris Sherwood. President Joe Biden signed the stopgap measure to keep the government operational until lawmakers reach an agreement on a full-year spending bill.
As a consequence of reallocating funds, the Pentagon faces a reduction in money designated for training, exercises, and deployments that had been planned for the year. Sherwood expressed concerns that some of these essential activities might be canceled or delayed. The unexpected nature of the Middle East buildup, not factored into the initial budget requests, has put additional strain on the Defense Department.
Sherwood stated, “Current events have revised some of the operational assumptions used to develop the FY 2024 President’s Budget request. Specifically, neither the base budget request nor the FY 2024 supplemental request included funding for U.S. operations related to Israel. We're taking it out of hide.”
The ongoing troop buildup in the Middle East has prompted military departments and U.S. Central Command to reassess the requirements for current and future operations in response to the developing conflict.
The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that the Pentagon is simultaneously supporting two wars—in Ukraine and Israel. Top Pentagon officials, including Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, have repeatedly warned about the detrimental impact of temporary funding measures on military readiness. Operating under a stopgap measure prevents the initiation of new programs or funding anything beyond the previous year's levels.
Hicks emphasized the gravity of the situation during a Nov. 21 event in Washington, stating, “We’ve gotten used to getting by, CR to CR, but it’s with significant consequence. That has a cost. You can’t buy back the time. You just can’t.”
She estimated that keeping the Pentagon under the stopgap effectively results in a $35 billion cut, highlighting the responsibility to build trust with Congress. However, Hicks emphasized the need for a two-way street, expressing concerns about the ability of Congress to fulfill its responsibilities.
The temporary funding measure is set to expire on Feb. 2, putting the onus on lawmakers to pass a full-year spending bill. If disagreements persist through April, the Pentagon and other federal agencies will face a 1 percent across-the-board spending cut, adding another layer of uncertainty to an already challenging situation.
The government will shut down after September 30 if Congress can’t reach a deal on funding, which would put Social Security payments and SNAP benefits at risk because there will not be enough federal workers to administer those programs.
Rep. Tom Kean Jr. is trying to duck responsibility for the imminent disaster but he is refusing to join Pennsylvania Republican Brian Fitzpatrick and a handful of other GOP congressmen who are willing to break the logjam that has brought the United States to the brink of yet another voluntary disaster.
Although his 2022 campaign for Congress slammed his Democratic opponent, then-Rep. Tom Malinowski, with withering criticism over numerous violations of the same law, Kean violated the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act when he was more than four months late disclosing six personal stock transactions.
According to a federal financial document that Kean filed on Sept. 18, the unreported stock transactions are worth up to $90,000.
While the impact of a federal government shutdown depends on its duration, Americans could quickly start to experience the consequences of a lapse of funding.
On the first day of the shutdown, thousands of federal employees would be furloughed — and that means staff would be severely limited when it comes to administering a range of programs millions of Americans rely on.
If the government closes down, newly eligible beneficiaries will not be able to enroll in Social Security, federal employees will not get their paychecks, and many small businesses will not get loans they depend on to survive.
Social Security payments should continue to go out during the government shutdown — but don’t expect to get help if you need a new card, want to enroll in the system, or are dealing with any problems. The agency’s contingency plan says that 8,500 employees will be furloughed in the case of a shutdown, with 53,000 exempted from shutdown furloughs.
It is painfully obvious that Speaker Kevin McCarthy is unable to manage the GOP caucus, where the crazy right-wing extremists who relish a government shutdown are firmly in command.
We’re facing a violent national crisis rooted in the rampant circulation of propaganda; dis-, mis- and malinformation; and other harmful online content. In other words, Republicans are lying to the American people.
Just as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s denial of violent extremism shows that she is not looking at any of the evidence, now that she has access to classified and sensitive information about national security and terrorist threats, and still regularly participates in deceit, disinformation and lies.
By avoiding the chance to refute these lies and stand with other lawmakers who imperil their political standing among extremists in their constituencies, Kean is contributing the the government shutdown, continued violence in our society and the ultimate destruction of democracy itself as we know it in the United States.
Government agencies and scholars across the political spectrum agree that far-right movements have caused most of the political violence in the U.S. over the past few years – and present the most dangerous threat today.
These are existential threats but Tom Kean Jr. is not willing to risk political failure in order to save the nation.
