WASHINGTON >> In a move to prevent a government shutdown, the Senate is taking a bipartisan approach, while House Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces a more challenging situation. McCarthy is asking his hard-right Republicans to do something they had previously refused to do – approve their own temporary House measure to keep the government open.
During a closed-door meeting, McCarthy outlined his strategy and urged his unruly majority to work together. He scheduled a test vote on a far-right bill for Friday, just one day before the shutdown deadline on Saturday. This bill includes an 8% decrease in federal spending for various agencies and stricter border security measures. However, it has already been rejected by President Joe Biden, Democrats, and even McCarthy’s own right-flank Republicans.
McCarthy expressed his commitment to addressing the problem to reporters at the Capitol. However, when pressed on how he planned to pass a partisan Republican spending plan that is opposed by his own party members, he had little to say. He outright rejected the Senate’s bipartisan bill, which would provide government funding until November 17, along with additional funds for Ukraine and U.S. disaster relief. Instead, McCarthy insisted that he would continue trying, as he often does.
With a federal shutdown looming, Congress is at a critical point. Such a shutdown would disrupt paychecks for millions of federal workers and military personnel, close numerous federal offices, and leave Americans who rely on government services in a difficult position.
While the Senate forges ahead with a bipartisan approach, McCarthy is demanding a meeting with Biden to discuss border security measures. However, the speaker has little leverage without the support of his House majority and after walking away from the debt deal he and Biden previously reached.
In the Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned against the right-wing extremists who seem eager to shut down the government. Schumer stated that a reckless shutdown would serve no purpose.
Surprisingly, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell agreed with Schumer, urging his House colleagues to consider the Senate’s stopgap approach of maintaining current funding levels while providing additional support for Ukraine and U.S. disaster relief. McConnell encouraged his colleagues in the House to abandon the shutdown strategy, as a shutdown would hinder any meaningful progress on policy.
While the Senate expects to spend the rest of the week working to pass its bill despite opposition from Senator Rand Paul and other conservatives who want to halt aid to Ukraine and implement deeper spending cuts, Congress as a whole is racing towards the deadline.
If funding is not secured by Sunday, October 1st, which marks the start of the new fiscal year, the federal government will begin to shut down.
Although the White House has suggested that McCarthy and the House Republicans must “fix” the problem they have created, Donald Trump, Biden’s chief rival in the 2024 election, is urging the right flank to fight for significant spending cuts. Trump suggests that if Republicans don’t get what they want, they should “shut it down.”
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