With the looming threat of a US government shutdown in under 10 days, congressional Republicans have encountered their second unsuccessful spending push of the week.
Kevin McCarthy, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, highlighted the disunity within his party, noting that there are those who are determined to set everything ablaze.
Mr. McCarthy had initially hinted at a weekend working session for the House, but on Thursday, legislators opted to head back to their home states.
It’s a recognition that there aren’t enough votes at this point to maintain normal government operations.
Federal government agencies use up the funding approved by Congress as the fiscal year concludes at midnight on September 30th.
This Friday, following standard protocol, the White House will issue instructions for agencies to update their shutdown contingency plans, aligning with the seven-day working window before any possible disruption.
For spending measures to become law, they must receive approval in both the Republican-led House and the Democrat-controlled Senate, ultimately earning President Joe Biden’s signature.
The impending deadline has amplified the ideological chasm between moderate House Republicans and an unyielding hard-right faction to a boiling point.
This group, made up of roughly half a dozen conservative rebels, is standing firm in their demand for spending reductions and their refusal to allocate more funds to support the war in Ukraine.
The faction’s members have gone as far as to threaten Mr. McCarthy’s removal from the speaker’s office if he brokers a deal, especially with centrist Democrats, in an attempt to sidestep their opposition.
In response to these requests, the speaker scheduled a closed-door meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday. In contrast, Mitch McConnell, his Senate counterpart, convened a meeting that included all senators.
Mr. McCarthy, in a statement to NBC News, explained that Congress had a time constraint preventing the hosting of a joint address by Mr. Zelensky before the House and Senate.
After 15 rounds of voting in January, Mr. McCarthy assumed the role of Speaker, operating with little room for error. His party clings to a slim nine-seat majority in the House, with some members currently absent.
After a three-hour closed-door meeting on Wednesday, Republicans emerged with what appeared to be a consensus on a $1.5 trillion spending proposal. This measure includes funding for border security and the establishment of a commission to explore strategies for addressing the national debt.
In light of this development, Mr. McCarthy took steps to advance a key defense spending bill authored by his party members, with the intention of signalling the end of the chaos within his caucus.
Still, the illusion of unanimity was shattered on Thursday as five Republicans, in conjunction with all Democrats, stopped the bill from proceeding to a vote. This was the second such incident in three days.