For more than a decade, Congress has tended to fund the federal government either through repeated stopgap measures or in one giant omnibus appropriations bill at the end of the year. Senior members usually negotiate both types of legislation in secret and then present it right before a deadline to rank-and-file members, telling them they have no choice but to pass it or shut down the government. Needless to say, this process rankles the rank-and-file, who chafe at how little say they actually have in perhaps Congress’s most important responsibility—the power of the purse.

The problem with regular order is that it generally doesn’t work as well in practice as it sounds in theory. For one, it’s messy. Ryan has promised to bring spending bills to the floor under what’s known as an “open rule,” which really means almost no rules at all. Members can demand votes on any amendment that relates to how the department in question spends money. And in an election year (or really any year), the minority party will always try to use this freedom to advance their causes and create political headaches for the majority it is trying to oust in the fall. Enter gay and transgender rights. What was once a wedge issue for conservatives has now become a weapon for Democrats, who are trying to exploit what they see as overreach by Republicans in states like North Carolina, where they have passed so-called bathroom bills to restrict transgender rights. The amendment from Representative Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, who is gay, passed late Wednesday with support from all 180 Democrats and 43 Republicans. After winning on the anti-discrimination measure, Maloney and all but six of his Democratic colleagues voted against the full energy bill, along with 130 Republicans. Conservatives opposed it either because the LGBT language was in there, or because the bill spent too much, or both.

“What we just learned today is that Democrats were not looking to advance an issue. They were looking to sabotage the appropriations process,” Ryan told reporters a few minutes after the bill failed. Still, he staunchly defended his commitment to “regular order,” reminding both the press and his own GOP members that this is exactly what it looked like: a more open process, “with fewer predetermined outcomes, and yes, more unpredictability.”

That was what Ryan had promised when he became speaker last fall. It is also what his predecessor, John Boehner, had promised when he took control of the House five years ago. But over time, the imperative to actually pass bills and demonstrate some semblance of governing ability overtook the desire to let 435 members have their say and allow the House “to work its will.” Boehner couldn’t strike that balance, and as even more time elapsed, the frustration of conservatives who felt that the leadership was constantly jamming them with unpleasant compromises bubbled up, and they sent the affable Ohioan back home to the golf course.