LATEST NEWS: House poised to override Can and shut down AVERT government for 45 days with short-term spending bill
Representatives of the House of Representatives vote less than twelve hours before a deadline to avoid a government shutdown.
Saturday’s emergency measure introduced by Republicans to keep the government funded effectively kicks the crisis in the bud by delaying a shutdown by at least 45 days.
The proposal is currently being voted on, with Republican Chairman Kevin McCarthy leading plans to avoid a shutdown on Saturday.
It came as a surprise to many lawmakers, who were deep in discussions about how to mitigate the effects of a shutdown.
On Friday, McCarthy faced a humiliating loss when his own party failed to pass a funding bill that would have averted the crisis, leaving 3.5 million federal workers at risk of going without pay if an eleventh-hour deal isn’t reached .
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy arrives on Capitol Hill Saturday ahead of the 11 a.m. vote to try to prevent a government shutdown
President Joe Biden will meet with his Cabinet early next week to discuss how the government will function after the expected shutdown begins Sunday.
There are fears that the government shutdown could continue for weeks
McCarthy’s bill needs two-thirds of House members to pass it, meaning Republicans will need help from Democratic colleagues to get it passed.
The proposal will be voted on later today by the Democratic-majority Senate.
If it fails to win a majority of votes, the government will be shut down at midnight tonight.
The House Speaker’s change of heart means he is now at risk of being ousted from his job by other Republicans.
As fears about the shutdown grow, President Biden is preparing to convene his Cabinet next week to discuss how the government will function.
If the government shuts down, two million members of the military and a million and a half federal civilian employees will go without pay until lawmakers can strike a deal.
More than half of civilian workers will be furloughed, and the rest will have to report to work without pay.
Much of the dispute has focused on Biden’s aggressive financing of the Ukraine conflict, with Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene decrying the bill she voted against as “America last.”
On Friday, McCarthy failed to strike a deal with hardline Republican officials, saying the party-line plan that was abandoned aimed to cut spending by $1.471 trillion while strengthening border security.
Friday’s failed vote was a brutal defeat for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who faced brutal criticism from his party’s right.
Even if the bill had passed, it would not have prevented a shutdown: It would never have been taken up in the Senate, which is working on its own bipartisan measure that McCarthy rejected.
However, it would have been a starting point between the proposals of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
