Hopefully, members of the House of Representatives have no plans for the weekend.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters Wednesday that he intends to keep lawmakers in D.C. for a rare Saturday session as Republicans argue over how to defend against a partial government shutdown that will begin at 11:59 pm on September 30.
Congress was scheduled to adjourn over the weekend on Thursday, but that will change as tensions rise within the Republican Party over the fate of a 30-day stopgap spending bill.
“Honestly, I don’t know what to tell my fellow Republicans other than they’re going to have a sandwich and they probably deserve to eat it,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) told Fox News on Wednesday about the opposition. to continued resolution from within the Republican conference.
“I’m an equal opportunity advocate and I think this is stupid,” added Roy, who supports the agreement reached over the weekend between the conservative Freedom Caucus and the centrist Main Street Caucus.
Kevin McCarthy has downplayed concerns about a motion to remove him as president.REUTERS
Under the measure, Congress would pass a stopgap resolution to keep the government open through Oct. 31 in exchange for an 8% spending cut from current levels to agencies other than the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
It also includes provisions aimed at increasing border security, including continuing construction of Trump’s wall and authorizing the hiring of 22,000 more Border Patrol agents.
But nearly a dozen House Republican lawmakers are protesting, citing the lack of promised spending cuts.
Kevin McCarthy has managed to navigate multiple confrontations, including those related to the presidency and the debt limit.REUTERS
Many holdouts want Congress to fulfill its obligation to fund the government for the next fiscal year through the traditional 12 separate appropriations bills. But both parties agree that Congress won’t have enough time to prepare those bills without an extension.
So far, the House has only passed one of those 12 bills. A vote to advance a defense spending bill broke out on the floor Tuesday afternoon.
“I think it’s disrespectful to our active duty service, our veterans and our current service members. “They deserve better than this from Congress,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) complained after that vote.
Congressional lawmakers may soon have to start working until midnight to avoid a government shutdown.
McCarthy can only afford to lose four votes and still pass legislation along partisan lines.
If moderate Republicans turn to Democrats for help passing a continuing resolution, the latter would likely push the GOP to stick to the budget numbers agreed upon during the debt ceiling fight in May and pass a relief package for Ukraine worth more than 20 billion dollars. .
Additionally, the bipartisan House problem-solvers group has reportedly been mulling over its own plan.
Many GOP holdouts, like Matt Gaetz, are rumored to be considering an exit from the House.REUTERS
If McCarthy trusted Democrats, it could jeopardize his presidency.
Last week, his main antagonist, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), threatened to file a motion to unseat McCarthy if he didn’t agree to a series of demands, including subpoenaing his first son, Hunter Biden.
Meanwhile, the Senate has also yet to pass an appropriations bill and on Wednesday failed to advance the so-called “minibus” package of three spending measures that finance agriculture and military construction, transportation and housing, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Moderate Republicans like Mike Lawler have admonished their colleagues for their harsh tactics.
In a 49-48 vote, the Senate failed to clear the 60-vote threshold to break the filibuster and advance the bill.
All 12 appropriations bills on the Senate docket have already been approved by the Appropriations Committee and are closer to the $1.59 trillion ceiling set in the debt limit deal.
That puts the Senate at odds with the House, where McCarthy has bowed to pressure from his right flank to aim for lower spending levels.
Kevin McCarthy previously indicated that the House may have to work to resolve the spending impasse.REUTERS
Notably, House Republicans’ opening offer in the debt ceiling saga earlier this year was to cap discretionary spending at $1.471 trillion.
Against the backdrop of the spending turmoil, the deficit is rising.
A recent analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget projected that the annual deficit could soar to about $2 trillion by fiscal year 2023, up from $1.4 trillion by fiscal year 2022.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn