There is not much time left to find ways to avoid the closure of the US federal government
According to a report on the CNN website on September 21, several Republican sources have revealed that as the possibility of the US government shutting down next weekend seems to be increasing, Republican leaders in the House of Representatives will allow lawmakers to go home and rest for a week due to serious disagreements over government funding.
According to reports, before sending lawmakers home, conservatives dramatically vetoed the views of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Republican leaders in a procedural vote on the Pentagon Appropriations Act, and lawmakers will not reconvene until next week.
The House Republicans had originally planned to hold a meeting over the weekend to pass a temporary government funding bill. However, due to chaos and fighting within the Republican House meeting, which could lead to paralysis in the House, this strategy is now being shelved.
According to multiple lawmakers and aides, the new plan is aimed at encouraging Republicans to work on long-term spending bills, as their short-term funding bills did not receive the necessary Republican approval votes despite opposition from hardliners.
The report points out that the likelihood of completing this work before the funds run out next week is very low. In addition, these bills will be vetoed by the Senate as soon as they arrive, so this is not a feasible plan to avoid a government shutdown.
Although no more votes are expected over the weekend, some members of the House of Representatives will stay in Washington to continue discussing the next steps.
The report suggests that the failure of the vote on the 21st marks another blow to McCarthy, who is facing pressure and the threat of being dismissed. Defeated defense funding bills generally receive broad support from both parties. This sign indicates that even normally undisputed issues have fallen into the quagmire of Republican infighting.
According to the report, due to the hardliners in the House of Representatives disrupting the vote, the House was completely paralyzed. McCarthy looked very frustrated when he walked out of the House, criticizing these people as just trying to "burn down this place.".
McCarthy told reporters, "What's frustrating is that I don't understand why someone voted against the idea and debated it."
The report states that opposition from hardliners has hindered the Republican leadership's efforts to unite and support a plan to provide funding for the government. Several days of negotiations achieved some significant breakthroughs, but opponents of McCarthy in the Republican Party quickly poured cold water and openly ignored McCarthy's call for unity.
