Congress returns to work in crisis mode with five days to go before a government shutdown. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces an insurgency from hard-right Republicans eager to slash spending even if it means closing federal offices to millions of Americans. The House is expected to vote Tuesday on a package of government funding bills, but it’s not at all clear that McCarthy has the support needed. Meanwhile, the Senate is trying to stave off a federal closure with its own bipartisan plan for a stopgap measure. It would buy some time and keep offices funded past Saturday’s deadline.
Against the mounting chaos, President Joe Biden warned the Republican conservatives off their hardline tactics, saying funding the federal government is “one of the most basic fundamental responsibilities of Congress."
A government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to pass a budget before the start of the new fiscal year. Here’s what you need to know. After the House Rules Committee met Saturday to prepare for this week's voting, McCarthy was hopeful the latest plan on a package of four bills, to fund Defense, Homeland Security, Agriculture, and State and Foreign Operations, would kickstart the process.
While their numbers are just a handful, the hard-right Republican faction holds oversized sway because the House majority is narrow and McCarthy needs almost every vote from his side for partisan bills without Democratic support.
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