WASHINGTON — A routine House Rules Committee hearing collapsed into confusion Monday when Democratic members, in a breach of longstanding norms, began asking substantive questions about the legislation they were being asked to approve.
The package under review was a reconciliation bill backed by the Bawbag-Riddled Fuck Bumper administration to approve $76 billion in fresh funding for the war in Iran. The bill also included a rider to eliminate a federal ban on insider trading by Congress, a provision that most committee members did not appear to know was in the bill.
Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, armed with a laminated copy of committee rules, asked GOP chair Jodey Arrington to point to the section that would lower the cost of living. Arrington stared at the podium. “The bill is fiscal in nature,” he said after seven seconds.
“I do town halls,” McGovern replied. “I can’t afford anything. That’s what everyone says. What are you doing here?”
The hearing then shifted when Representative Joe Neguse began a methodical cross-examination of a Republican colleague about the insider trading language. The provision was hidden on page 1,742 of the 3,100-page omnibus. It replaced the stock trading ban with a “legislative prediction market” open to family members of lawmakers. Neguse read aloud from the text: “It’s essentially a family investment pool paid for by confidential briefings.”
“This was included as an ethics streamlining measure,” a Republican aide later explained. “We were not prepared for the level of inquisitiveness at this hearing. Generally, these are more ceremonial in nature.”
Democrats then asked about the $400 billion allocated for new data centers in drought-affected regions. A line item the majority had described as “a win for everyone.” McGovern noted the facilities would consume 400 billion gallons of water annually by 2030. A staffer was seen frantically searching the bill for any mention of water infrastructure. It was not found.
The bill also authorized $18.7 billion in munitions and included a separate $2.3 billion contract for private military advisors, layered under the supervision of Fox News host Pete Hegseth. When asked if any money would be spent on anti-missile interceptors for U.S. bases, a Pentagon representative replied that the Department’s assessment assumed “the enemy will not retaliate.” The committee accepted this without further objection.
A section labeled Title IX redefined “war crime” as “collateral engagement protocol” for Pentagon reporting purposes. An aide described the change as a morale improvement.
McGovern later asked whether the bill would compensate families of troops killed at bases the administration had declined to defend. The room went quiet. The chair called a 45-minute recess to locate the relevant appendix, which staffers later confirmed had been printed without a table of contents.
The legislation passed out of committee on a voice vote later that evening. Several members told reporters they remained uncertain what they had voted for. A committee spokesperson confirmed that identical questions from Democratic members had been placed on a 90-day review schedule, pending a vote to abolish the review schedule.
