McCarthy Expresses Frustration as GOP Conservatives Delay Shutdown Avoidance Plan
Speaker Kevin McCarthy encountered a formidable challenge as he made the decision to send House members home for the week, all while grappling with the looming specter of an impending government shutdown and no definitive solution in sight. Once again, staunch conservatives within the Republican conference thwarted his spending plans, dealing another embarrassing blow to GOP leadership.
McCarthy didn’t mince words, criticizing the far-right faction for their desire to disrupt proceedings, particularly their defiance in a procedural vote regarding Pentagon funding. This move plunged the House into a state of paralysis, and there’s little hope of resolution until Tuesday, even as the specter of a shutdown looms large.
“It’s frustrating because I can’t fathom why anyone would vote against the idea of having a debate,” McCarthy expressed his exasperation to reporters.
Thursday’s vote was yet another setback for McCarthy, who’s been under increasing pressure and faced threats of removal. The defense funding bill that was derailed usually enjoys broad bipartisan support, highlighting how even typically uncontroversial matters are getting entangled in Republican internal conflicts.
Despite days of negotiations yielding some apparent progress, McCarthy’s Republican opponents continue to stymie his calls for unity. With a slim majority in the chamber, McCarthy can only afford to lose four members without any Democratic support, and absences can tilt the majority threshold.
Initially, House Republicans had planned to work through the weekend to pass a stop-gap government funding bill. However, this strategy is now on hold due to infighting within the House GOP conference. Consequently, House Republican leaders are sending members home for the week amidst these deep divisions.
The new strategy, according to multiple lawmakers and aides, involves attempting to complete work on individual, long-term spending bills, as the short-term funding bill lacked necessary GOP support due to hardline opposition. Nevertheless, there’s little hope of finishing this work before next week’s funding deadline, and these bills would likely be non-starters in the Senate, rendering them insufficient to avert a shutdown.
While weekend votes are no longer anticipated, some House lawmakers will remain in Washington to continue discussions on next steps. Late Wednesday, McCarthy privately discussed a potential plan to keep the government open, coupling it with deeper spending cuts and new border security measures in an attempt to appease skeptical members on his right flank.
The proposed plan would maintain government operations for 30 days at a spending level of $1.47 trillion, create a commission to address the debt, and include a border security package. Additionally, there’s agreement to move year-long funding bills at a $1.53 trillion level, below the bipartisan agreement McCarthy had reached with the White House regarding the national debt limit.
Whether Republicans can rally around this plan remains uncertain, but even if they do, it’s unlikely to succeed in the Senate, making it an impractical option for preventing a shutdown.
On Thursday, six Republicans voted against the rule, including Reps. Dan Bishop representing North Carolina, Andy Biggs from Arizona, Matt Rosendale hailing from Montana, Eli Crane of Arizona, and Marjorie Taylor Greene, a notable figure from Georgia. House Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole of Oklahoma eventually changed his vote, opposing the rule to bring it up for reconsideration.
As the shutdown deadline rapidly approaches, it’s unclear what course of action Congress will take next week. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, however, took a procedural step on Thursday that could enable a vote on a short-term government funding bill in the Senate, emphasizing the need for bipartisan collaboration to prevent unnecessary hardships for the American people
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