Speaker Paul Ryan stumbles out of the gate.

The House approved a bill to spend up to $325 billion on transportation projects on Thursday after a weeklong vote-a-rama and an intense debate about federal gas taxes.

The measure also includes a reauthorization of the controversial Export-Import Bank’s charter, which has been held up in Congress since it expired in June.  The extension, which was included in the Senate’s highway bill and left unchanged by the House, reauthorizes the bank’s expired charter until 2019.

The House voted to approve the bill in a 363-64 vote. It calls for spending $261 billion on highways and $55 billion on transit over six years. The legislation authorizes highway funding for six years, but only if Congress can come up with a way to pay for the final three years.

This is a very typical Washington porkfest. It is loaded with fat and graft for political favorites. It also includes the renewal of the Export-Import Bank, which is just a government vehicle for corporate welfare to massive multinationals. And yet, Paul Ryan pushed it through and Rep. Glenn Grothmann voted for it.

I will disagree a bit with Dad29’s take when he said, “This may be a record time for going DC Native, Glenn.” Sadly, this has been Grothmann’s MO. He might fight in caucus to make bills more conservative, but he is a loyal vote for leadership when it hits the floor.