House GOP fails to pass stopgap spending bill one day before shutdown
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images.
The Republican-controlled House on Friday voted down a measure to temporarily avert a government shutdown just one day before federal funding is set to expire.
Why it matters: It’s a setback for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as he tries to position himself to make a deal with the Senate on a stopgap bill and save his speakership from hardliners in his conference.
What happened: The bill, called a continuing resolution, failed 198-232 after 21 Republicans voted with Democrats against it.
- Most GOP "no" votes were right-wingers who objected to the very idea of a continuing resolution.
- Some pushed for specific policy additions or lower spending levels – Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), for instance, wanted to include a mandate for companies to verify their workers' legal status.
The details: The measure would have kept the government funded for 30 days while cutting funding by 30% for all agencies except the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs.
- It also includes H.R. 2, a Republican measure to codify controversial Trump-era border policies.
- These were non-starters for the Democrat-controlled Senate and White House, but Republicans hoped to strengthen their hand in eventual cross-chamber negotiations to hammer out a bipartisan deal.
What's next: The government is hurtling towards a shutdown come midnight on Saturday.
- The Senate is having trouble advancing its own continuing resolution: "I think if Rand Paul continues to block the vote, it won't be until [Saturday]," Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, told Axios.
- "It's certainly not a good sign" for avoiding a shutdown, Collins added.
What they're saying: "I personally think what will happen is [the shutdown] will span a few days, and ... the heat will turn up and the Senate version will come our way and there will be a discharge petition," said Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.).
- A discharge petition – a tool to force a vote on a bill opposed by majority leadership – was floated by several centrists ahead of the vote on Friday.
- "We have a number of [Republicans] ... that are willing to discharge or take another option to ultimately get something that's a two-party solution on the floor," said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.).
