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On Nov. 5, Americans spoke loud and clear: They wanted an end to the bloated bureaucracy and a halt to the reckless, unchecked spending that’s drained the coffers of our republic. And what did they get? A Republican victory. Now it’s time for House Republicans to start acting like they won.

Late Tuesday evening, congressional leaders released their 1,547-page monstrosity of a spending bill — a so-called “continuing resolution” that purports to fund the government through March of 2025. It’s business as usual in Washington despite the November mandate.

Inside this so-called “continuing resolution” is a collection of waste, with tax dollars going toward absurd pet projects — as pointed out by my colleague Shawn Fleetwood — like money for “American music tourism,” “consumer safety standards for certain types of batteries,” a pay raise for Congress, and a one-year extension of the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC).

The GEC “funded the development of censorship tools” that silenced speech online — including that of The Federalist, as explained by The Federalist’s Margot Cleveland.

Johnson contends that Republicans “CANNOT allow millions of Americans devastated by the historic hurricane season, or our struggling farmers, go without the help they desperately need.”

Fair — but if that’s the case, why isn’t Johnson demanding a standalone bill for disaster relief? This is an easy layup for Johnson — make Democrats explain why they’d vote against a clean relief bill without all the pork attached. But instead of seizing the moment, Johnson is squandering it.

As Florida Republican Rep. Greg Steube posted on X, “It makes no sense to pass another liberal CR now.”

“Why are we working with Democrats to maintain Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer’s spending levels for three more months? We should advance a conservative bill that reflects our priorities and delivers real results for the American people.”

The fact is, the American people voted for a federal government that puts their priorities first — a government that promised to eliminate waste. That promise is embodied in the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). DOGE will be headed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. But as The Federalist’s Editor-in-Chief Mollie Hemingway said recently on Fox News, Congress is the single greatest obstacle standing in the way of fulfilling that mandate.

At this point, it’s clear: Speaker Johnson needs a spine. Perhaps there’s enough money in the CR for him to get one.

Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2