U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) arrives on the U.S. Capitol ahead of an expected vote within the U.S. House of Representatives on a bill raising the federal government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, in Washington, May 31, 2023.
Julia Nikhinson | Reuters
WASHINGTON — Concerns over a possible government shutdown have reached a fever pitch because the House of Representatives returns to session this week with little progress to indicate on budget negotiations.
Government funding is about to run out on Sept. 30, leaving lower than a dozen working days for each chambers of Congress to pass all 12 appropriations bills and President Joe Biden to sign. The Republican-led House has only managed to pass one.
A failure to achieve this would end in a government shutdown resulting in furloughed staff, agencies closed and plenty of essential programs placed in peril.
“There is no reason for a government shutdown,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday at a briefing. “It is vital for Congress to maintain their promise that they made to the American people and do their job.”
Deep divisions remain between the parties with Republicans trying to implement large spending cuts unlikely to pass within the Democratic-controlled Senate. The White House last month called on Congress to pass a short-term continuing resolution to maintain government funding at its current levels while negotiations lag on.
The House Freedom Caucus, which incorporates probably the most conservative members of the Republican Party, is trying to cut spending for the fiscal 12 months 2024 to $1.47 trillion, or around $120 billion under what Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed to in May when the 2 sides last sparred over budget talks. The demand is a non-starter for each the White House and Senate leaders, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
McConnell last month said budget negotiations were a “pretty big mess” and predicted a unbroken resolution can be passed.
The Senate can have bipartisan support for a short-term stopgap funding bill nevertheless it’s more complicated within the House. Freedom Caucus Republicans have said they oppose even passing the continuing resolution without concessions on border funding and if it includes money for Ukraine.
Some hardline Republicans were holding out support until McCarthy agreed to launch an impeachment inquiry into Biden, which he announced he would Tuesday. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said she wouldn’t vote on any crucial budget bills unless impeachment proceedings began. Republicans supporting the impeachment push remain murky on what high crimes and misdemeanors Biden allegedly committed.
McCarthy is in a difficult situation. He’s beholden to the needs of each member of his caucus, including the hardliners of his slim ten-person majority. This was on full display at first of the session when it took 15 ballots, and plenty of concessions, to elect him speaker. The speaker warned his caucus that a government shutdown would have negative effects on the impeachment process as well.
“If we shut down, all of presidency shuts down — investigations and all the things else,” McCarthy told Fox News last month.
Not all members of his caucus have signaled they’re on board for impeachment. Rep. Ken Buck, R-Co., a member of the Freedom Caucus, called the situation “absurd” in an interview with MSNBC.
“The time for impeachment is the time when there’s evidence linking President Biden — if there’s evidence linking President Biden to a high crime or misdemeanor. That does not exist without delay,” Buck said. “And it is absolutely something that we will say, well, in February, we will do that. It’s based on the facts. You go where the facts take you.”
