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Hardline Republicans Reject Government Funding Bill, Shutdown Imminent
WASHINGTON, Sept 29 (Reuters) – In a blow to the Republican party, hardline members of the U.S. House of Representatives have rejected a bill proposed by their leader to temporarily fund the government. This rejection makes it highly likely that federal agencies will experience a partial shutdown starting on Sunday.
The House voted 232-198 against the measure, which aimed to extend government funding by 30 days and avoid a shutdown. However, the bill included spending cuts and restrictions on immigration, two Republican priorities that were unlikely to be approved by the Democratic-controlled Senate.
With Republicans holding a slim majority of 221-212 in the chamber, the defeat has left them without a clear strategy to prevent a shutdown that would have significant consequences. National parks would close, up to 4 million federal workers would face disruptions in pay, and numerous areas from financial oversight to scientific research would be severely impacted if funding is not extended past 12:01 a.m. ET (0401 GMT) on Sunday.
Following the vote, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy suggested that the chamber might still pass a funding extension without the conservative policies that had alienated Democrats. However, he did not provide specifics on what would happen next. Additional votes are expected to take place on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Senate’s actions remain uncertain. Although the chamber was scheduled to consider a bipartisan bill on Saturday that would fund the government until November 17, procedural hurdles could delay the final vote until Tuesday.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen cautioned that a government shutdown would negatively impact U.S. economic progress, leading to the idling of programs for small businesses and children, and potentially delaying major infrastructure improvements.
This shutdown would mark the fourth in a decade, occurring merely four months after a previous standoff nearly caused the federal government to default on its $31 trillion debt. The repeated brinkmanship has raised concerns on Wall Street, and credit ratings agency Moody’s has warned of potential damage to U.S. creditworthiness.
President Joe Biden expressed concern over the potential toll a shutdown could have on the armed forces, stating, “We can’t be playing politics while our troops stand in the breach. It’s an absolute dereliction of duty.” Biden made these comments at a retirement ceremony for senior general Mark Milley.
McCarthy had hoped that the Republican spending bill’s provisions on border security would convince holdouts who have thus far resisted efforts to avoid a shutdown. However, 21 hardline House Republicans joined Democrats in opposition to the measure.
These holdouts argue that Congress should focus on developing detailed spending bills that cover the entire fiscal year instead of relying on temporary extensions, even if that means risking a shutdown. Although the House has passed four full-year bills, they are unlikely to receive Senate approval.
In reference to the stopgap bill, Representative Matt Gaetz commented on a podcast, “What does work is rolling up our sleeves and getting onto these single subject bills and moving them.” Gaetz himself voted against the stopgap bill on Friday.
Other Republicans acknowledged the need to work with Democrats in order to pass a stopgap bill that would be approved by the Senate and Biden. Representative Don Bacon stated, “Some people are missing the obvious.”
McCarthy indicated that he was considering this approach, but he would not support additional aid to Ukraine, which Biden has requested and Senate lawmakers have included in their stopgap bill.
Former President Donald Trump, a potential opponent to Biden in the 2024 election, criticized Senate Republicans for collaborating with Democrats. Gaetz and a few other hardliners have threatened to remove McCarthy from his leadership role if he relies on Democratic support.
House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries described the situation as a “Republican civil war” that has been ongoing for months and now poses a threat of a catastrophic government shutdown.
McCarthy and Biden had reached a deal earlier this year to set agency spending at $1.59 trillion in fiscal year 2024. However, hardliners like Gaetz argue that this figure should be $120 billion lower. Lawmakers are currently not considering cuts to popular benefit programs such as Social Security and Medicare, which constitute a larger portion of the government’s $6.4 trillion budget.
US Government Shutdowns Timeline
A chart illustrating the timeline of the 14 U.S. government shutdowns from 1981 to 2020, with a potential shutdown looming by October 2023 if Congress fails to enact a spending measure.
Reporting by Moira Warburton, Richard Cowan, and David Morgan; Editing by Andy Sullivan, Alistair Bell, Jonathan Oatis, Grant McCool, and Cynthia Osterman
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