House Barrels Towards Shutdown over Impasse on Stopgap Spending Bill

The House moves towards a government shutdown as Republican leadership and some conservatives spar over a short-term spending plan.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and those aligned him started a sales pitch for a short-term spending plan, otherwise known as a continuing resolution (CR), that would include spending cuts and it has H.R.2, the Secure the Border Act of 2023, the House-passed border security bill. The legislation has cuts to domestic spending except for defense and veterans’ care.

The House Rules Committee will consider the legislation on Monday, with a planned floor vote on Thursday.

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The proposal was drafted between members of the House Freedom Caucus and more moderate members in the Main Street Caucus.

However, some conservatives have expressed skepticism about the proposal. Reps. Ralph Norman (R-SC), Cory Mills (R-FL), Dan Bishop (R-NC), Tim Burchett (R-TN), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), and Matt Gaetz (R-FL) may not vote for the legislation.

“No CR. Pass the damn approps bills,” Bishop wrote.

Gaetz said he will not “support this 167-page surrender to Joe Biden.” Rosendale called the plan a “continuation of Nancy Pelosi’s budget and Joe Biden’s budget.” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) wrote, “I’m a NO.” Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) wrote, “NO.”

The federal government will shut down if Congress does not pass a government funding bill by September 30.

House Republicans can afford to lose no more than four votes assuming all Democrats vote against the legislation.

With an expected vote on Thursday, McCarthy and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) have time to tweak the proposal to bring potential holdouts to the table. However, some of these conservatives “felt burned” by the debt ceiling deal to end the default crisis.