SerpApi.Org
House Republicans plan to push through a short-term government funding deal through December this week that would prevent a government shutdown before the midterm elections, as a spending showdown days before the election could prove politically perilous to the party in power.
A GOP-led continuing resolution is expected to be voted on Tuesday night that funds the government through Dec. 4. Government funding would lapse at the end of September, just about a month out from the midterm elections.
“It takes away the leverage point for midterms to shut down the government,” Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) told the Washington Examiner. “Shutting down the government is not what the people want. We all know that the Democrats are just salivating for any chance they can to shut down the government, which is something I just like to avoid. I want to get to the other side of this too. It's not a political vote; it's actually a budgetary vote.”
Congress has seen two record-breaking government shutdowns since the start of President Donald Trump's second term, with Republican leadership hoping to avoid another as they try to maintain their majority. A record 43-day full shutdown ended last November, which preceded a 76-day partial shutdown that ended in April.
“This clean CR is an opportunity for both sides, so they have an opportunity to demonstrate they're committed to responsibly funding the government through November and again, I bet you they [Democrats] don't help us on it,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told reporters Tuesday morning.
Government funding has been a thorny issue in recent years for Congress to get its 12 appropriations bills across the finish line before the Sept. 30 government funding deadline.
“I think we need to make sure we move forward on this and we don't shut down the government,” Rep. Jeff Hurd (R-CO) told the Washington Examiner. “That's one of the fundamental responsibilities that we have. So, I'm in favor of it. I think it's the right decision.”
“That's the whole point, right? It's to depoliticize the budget so that we're not talking about the budget during a midterm because it distracts from actually what we're trying to do, which is the people's business,” McCormick added.
Many Democrats have indicated they will not support the Republican-led continuing resolution due to language in the legislation that could allow the transfer of funds for Customs and Border Protection, claiming it violates their bipartisan agreement in the previous Homeland Security funding measure.
House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-CA) told reporters he will vote against the measure because of “some drafting errors within the CR that give Customs and Border Patrol flexibility to move money around.”
House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) argued that the bill will be used to avoid a shutdown and move negotiations forward to fund the government through the next fiscal year.
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“We have to move,” Cole said. “We're moving now. We want to make sure we don't shut down the government. The right thing to do is to get a CR in place and continue to negotiate. We're willing to negotiate.”
The short-term funding bill comes as House Republicans are aiming to keep control of the chamber come the November elections. Historically, the House flips to the party out of power in the White House in the midterm elections.
