Federal agencies are making final preparations as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy conducts a last-ditch effort to avert the funding lapse with the government on the verge of a shutdown and congressional politicians racing towards Saturday’s crucial midnight deadline.
The 45-day short-term budget package that the House will vote on on Saturday will include the natural disaster aid that the White House sought, according to McCarthy.
It is a blow to the allies of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who lobbied Congress earlier this month for further aid since the package does not include the $6 billion in funding for aid to Ukraine that many House Republicans sought.
McCarthy responded, “If I have to risk my job for sticking up for the American public, I will do that.” McCarthy was asked if he was concerned that a member, notably Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, could attempt to have him removed from this bill.
House Republican infighting has been a major factor in the impasse over spending that has gripped Congress. It is unclear how this impasse will be resolved, which has lawmakers on Capitol Hill worried that if a shutdown occurs, it may be difficult to end.
The House Republicans have been debating their course of action in meetings all morning on Saturday. Republicans in the House sought to have a vote on a short-term funding measure on Saturday, including veteran appropriators and those in battleground districts. The measure would finance the government for 45 days.
As he has encountered persistent opposition from the hardcore conservatives in his own party, McCarthy has been threatened with losing his job if he cooperates with Democrats throughout the month.
Many federal functions would come to a grinding halt during a shutdown, though those deemed critical for public safety would continue to operate. These repercussions are expected to be felt throughout the country, from air travel to clean drinking water.
Just hours before the deadline, both houses are set to meet on Saturday. Due to his opposition to the bill’s support for the war in Ukraine, Republican Sen. Rand Paul has vowed to delay the Senate’s ability to move forward with their own plan to keep the government funded through midnight.
Republicans in the House have so far rejected a bipartisan Senate proposal to fund the government through November 17, but they have been unable to come up with their own solution to prevent a shutdown due to opposition from a group of hardline conservatives who oppose any kind of short-term funding extension.
McCarthy tweeted on X, “It’s evident the flawed Senate plan has no route forward and is dead on arrival after meeting with House Republicans this evening. “The House will continue to work around the clock to maintain the functioning of the government and give American citizens’ needs top priority.”
McCarthy suggested a number of ideas during a two-hour conference discussion in the Capitol, including approving a short-term bill without funding for the Ukraine. This was followed by his late-night statement on Friday. On what, if anything, they would bring on the House floor on Saturday to avert a government shutdown, there is still no agreement.
On Friday, McCarthy suffered yet another notoriety loss when the House failed to pass a last-ditch stopgap measure.
Following the unsuccessful vote on Friday, McCarthy told reporters that he had suggested introducing a “clean” interim bill and that he was “working through maybe being able to do that.”
McCarthy added, “We’re working through it and trying to find a way out of this.
The bipartisan Senate plan would increase help to Ukraine, but many Republicans in the House oppose providing more aid to the country because of its ongoing civil strife.
McCarthy said on Friday that the Senate bill should not include funding for Ukraine. “I think we could definitely get that through if we had a clean one without Ukraine on it. I believe that may lead to serious issues, he said CNN’s Manu Raju, if the Senate prioritizes Ukraine before America.
Meanwhile, the Senate is seeking to adopt its own bicameral stopgap measure. The parliament is on schedule to approve the bill’s procedural motion on Saturday afternoon. However, a final vote by senators to pass the legislation is not yet known, and it might not take place until Monday when the government would already be shut down.
Due to his objections to the package’s inclusion of further aid to Ukraine, Paul has been a barrier to the Senate reaching an agreement to expedite the discussion of the bill.
Additionally complicating the Senate bill is the fact that many Republicans now want to change it to address the problem of border security.
The type of border amendment that Senate Republicans would like to add to the measure is still being debated, they said on Friday, and it is unclear if the chamber would even be able to advance the legislation in a procedural vote on Saturday without one.
Sen. Mike Braun, a Republican from Indiana, said that nothing was really coming together since there were too many moving components at this point. I believe I understand correctly that a vote will take place tomorrow. And aside from that, nothing else has really come together in a way that the House would likely find acceptable.