Kevin McCarthy Urges House Republicans to Pass Spending Bills to Counter Senate Democrats

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said during a Monday conference call with House Republicans that they should pass their spending bills to counter Senate Democrats.

“We’re walking into a battle to save the country. We’re going to be at a disadvantage, especially if we don’t get all of our work done,” McCarthy told House Republicans.

House Republicans aim to pass their respective spending bills to exert pressure on Senate Democrats to negotiate a future spending package that could pass through both chambers of Congress and that President Joe Biden could sign.

House Republicans hope to cut spending by more than $100 billion, while many senators want to increase defense spending.

The California conservative said he opposes a “yearlong” stopgap spending bill, or a continuing resolution (CR), as that would “lock in place” Democrat policy provisions. He did, however, tease that he expects a short-term CR could pass to fund the government through early December.

“Doing it in early December makes a good deal of sense,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Tuesday. 

McCarthy said, “I do expect a short term CR will be needed to finish all the work that we set out to do. But I don’t want the Senate to jam us against the holidays.”

“I do not want to do a CR that jams us up against Christmas or the holidays. Not going to do that. Not going to play that game,” he added.

However, one Republican, Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) warned that a government shutdown could come soon.

“It’s clear President Biden and Speaker McCarthy want a government shutdown, so that’s what Congress will do after we return in September. Everyone should plan accordingly,” he said.