Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s bid to gain the upper hand in the battle over federal spending hit stiff opposition from his own ranks on Monday, leaving him with dwindling options and little time to find his way out of a fiscal impasse that could lead to a government shutdown. Within two weeks.
Nearly a dozen Republicans made it clear they strongly oppose the proposal released Sunday, which combines a stopgap spending measure with steep funding cuts and new border restrictions. The measure is unlikely to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate, but Mr. .
However, internal opposition made it clear that he lacked the votes to carry it through.
“The Republican Party is failing the American people again and continuing down the path of sports and circuses,” Rep. Victoria Sports, Republican of Indiana, said in a statement. “Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats have the backbone to challenge the corrupt swamp that is bankrupting our children and grandchildren. It’s a shame that our weak Speaker can’t even have a commission to discuss our financial disaster.
“This city is addicted to spending other people’s money,” Rep. Eli Crane X, Republican of Arizona, said earlier on Twitter. “Enough is enough.”
Mr. With McCarthy’s slim majority, opposition from a dozen Republicans would make it impossible for him to advance the bill, as Democrats are uniformly opposed and the speaker is in no rush to bail out so far. When he arrived at the Capitol on Monday, Mr. McCarthy recommended, but admitted he faced a tough sell.
“It’s a good thing I like a challenge,” Mr. McCarthy said. “Every day is a challenge. I’ve had a long week.
A proposal released over the weekend would extend federal funding through October, allowing the House and Senate time to make more progress on their stalled annual spending bills. It would cut the budgets of most federal agencies by 8 percent, while exempting the military, veterans programs and disaster relief. It would also restore some tough Trump-era immigration policies. It does not include funding for continued military aid to Ukraine — money that is being sought by both parties in the White House and Senate.
Cuts, immigration rules opposed by Democrats and no aid to Ukraine make the stopgap plan unlikely to pass as it stands in the Senate. Mr. McCarthy was well aware of that, but hoped House passage would be a show of force that would force a Senate response and shift responsibility for the shutdown across the Rotunda.
Earlier this year Mr. It’s a strategy that worked for McCarthy, who exceeded expectations and managed to get the House to raise the debt ceiling tied to spending cuts. For a final agreement. But far-right House conservatives reluctantly cast only that first vote to raise the debt ceiling, and Mr. McCarthy was unhappy with the deal — and unwilling to support him in the current spending fight.
While some conservatives dug in against the plan, the prospect of a shutdown spooked other Republicans, and in 2020 Mr. Those in swing districts carried by Biden could feel the political fallout from the government shutdown.
“They don’t know how to take yes for an answer,” Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York said in a post on Platform X about Republican critics of the legislative proposal, known as a continuing resolution, or CR. They don’t know how to define success. Does not know how to work in a team. I will not support government shutdown. If they refuse to send a CR, I will be without them.
Mr. Trump has said he doesn’t want the government to shut down and, like the final vote on the debt, could try to pass a stopgap bill with a mix of Republican votes and Democratic votes. McCarthy repeated. Limitation Agreement. But some Republicans on the right have said such a move would challenge his job.
The new proposal had some conservative support. Representative Chip Roy, a Republican of Texas and a key member of the far-right Freedom Caucus, agreed, saying House approval would mean Senate Democrats would be responsible for the shutdown if they reject it. The architect of the immigration restrictions passed by the House earlier this year, Mr. Roy was among those who said he would not support any temporary spending unless the border was strengthened.
“The GOP has passed a 30-day extension to force 8% cuts to the Justice Department and the rest of the federal bureaucracy, arming border security and spurring DOD awareness,” said Mr. X at Platform X. Roy said. He tried to rally conservatives behind the proposal.
In addition to the temporary funding bill, Mr. McCarthy also hoped to revive the Pentagon spending measure, which was stalled last week when right-wing Republicans said they would not allow it to get to the floor. Mr. McCarthy said Sunday that he wanted to vote on the legislation and see if conservatives buckled under the pressure of being accused of abandoning the military.
The church is not alone in facing financial crisis. After weeks of bipartisan progress, the Senate hit a roadblock Thursday when Sen. Ron Johnson, Republican of Wisconsin, opposed a plan to consider three different spending bills together.
Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, on Monday called for the Senate to suspend its rules and Mr. He announced a vote later this week to overturn Johnson’s objection.
The first round of test polls will come on Wednesday. Some GOP senators appeared open to the idea, but Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 2 Republican, indicated that the issue could be discussed at a private party meeting on Tuesday.
Mr. Schumer clarified.
“Last night’s proposal in the House can be reduced to two words: slapdash, irresponsible,” Mr. Schumer said. “Slapdash because it is not a serious plan to avoid a shutdown, and irresponsible because if passed it would do great harm to many priorities that serve the American people.”
