Nathaniel Reed
McCarthy concedes with hard right on spending cuts as shutdown looms
The situation by Thursday made a disruption in government services likely as time runs out for Congress to act.
LEARN MOREPosted: 5:40 p.m. EDT Sep 24, 2023
This past week has been difficult for House Republicans, to say the least, after saying that they would stay through the weekend to come up with some sort of government funding solution or vote on additional appropriations bills.
House Republicans left town on Thursday, saying that they would call them back if necessary.
Ultimately, their next votes are going to take place on Tuesday, according to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
"I think we've made some progress to those who have been holding up passing the rule to get on to these bills,” said McCarthy. “We've got members working, and hopefully we'll be able to move forward on Tuesday to pass these bills.”
Now the House of Representatives will be out on Monday for the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
But when they return on Tuesday, there is a lot on their plate.
Republicans say that they'll begin to pass each of the 12 appropriations bills, one by one, which is just setting up the starting place for negotiations with the U.S. Senate.
Democratic senators, largely not in line with the spending levels that Republicans are passing, are also not happy with some of the other things in those spending bills.
That means those bills will need to be negotiated between the House and the Senate.
In the meantime, everyone from the White House to the Senate to the House of Representatives says they need to pass a short-term spending measure to keep the government open past Sept. 30.
"A government shutdown could impact everything from food safety to cancer research to head start programs for children funding. The government is one of the most basic responsibilities of Congress, and it's time for Republicans to start doing the job America elected them to do,” said President Joe Biden during a congressional Black Caucus awards dinner in Washington, D.C., on Saturday.
Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries slammed House Republican for "paralyzing Congress."
If the House fails to pass even a short-term spending measure to keep the government from shutting down, the government shutdown could occur as soon as Saturday, Sept. 30.
