MY TAKE: ORDER IN THE HOUSE — FINALLY!

The US House of Representatives has once again shown itself to be one tough body to manage for any Speaker! After two unsuccessful attempts in two days to pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) necessary to avert a government shutdown the erstwhile beleaguered Speaker Mike Johnson (R - Louisiana) finally got a squeaker of a stopgap bill passed on the third try last night. But not without the usual drama that Congress is notoriously known for.

Three very unique takes stand out in this particular episode: a) the role of President-elect Donald Trump contra the silence and absence of sitting President Joe Biden; b) the amazing influence of billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency partner Vivek Ramaswamy over the lawmakers and; c) the masterful maneuvering by Johnson and company to shred close to 1,500 pages of ‘junk’ provisions contained in the original budget proposal trimming it down to less than 120 ! Each of these is a rich fodder for a book one may entitle "The Three Musketeers of 2024"(?) Or how about "How Congress Launched Trump's First DOGE Rocket"?

While the humor is a sure come-on for whatever appropriate narrative anyone wishes to write about the story the substance, without doubt, is going to be epic! Trump's "Golden Age of America" could not begin at a more opportune time. As King Solomon teaches us in Ecclesiastes, there is a time for everything. The time for healing, recovery, redemption and reconciliation has come. Merry Christmas!