Trump urges government shutdown unless Congress passes bill requiring me
WASHINGTON — Congress is lurching toward another government shutdown deadline at the end of the month without clear plans for a bipartisan stopgap spending bill — and there are some new interventions from Republican presidential candidates.
House Republicans have so far taken a go-it-alone approach, scheduling a vote on a six-month continuing resolution for Wednesday, even though the legislation lacks the votes needed to pass both chambers.
President Joe Biden has also threatened to veto the bill, ensuring it cannot become law.
Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump tried to stir up trouble on Tuesday, calling on his party to force a government shutdown if Democrats don’t accept Republicans including a separate bill requiring ID to register to vote.
Trump wrote on social media: “If Republicans in the House and Senate do not have absolute guarantees on election security, they should not continue to pass resolutions on budget issues under any circumstances.”
House Republican leaders have Includes a bill requiring proof of citizenship Register to vote in federal elections in a temporary spending bill. It is already illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections.
original ballot bill, HR8281, It was originally proposed by Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy, a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus. it Pass 221-198 In July, five Democrats voted with Republicans, but the Senate was deadlocked.
The White House rejected this sideshow in an Administration Policy Statement released earlier this week. writing “Irrelevant and cynical legislation … will do nothing to protect our elections but will make it more difficult for all eligible Americans to register to vote and increase the risk that eligible voters will be purged from the voter rolls.”
Congress must pass some kind of spending bill by the end of the month to avoid a partial government shutdown starting just weeks before the November election.
Senator’s reaction
Senate Majority Leader Schumer urged congressional leaders to get into the room to negotiate a bipartisan deal during a press conference on Tuesday.
“The bottom line is, we want bipartisan negotiations,” Schumer said. “We’re going to sit down and have bipartisan negotiations, that’s the only way to get this passed.”
Schumer blamed House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, for calling such a meeting.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said at a separate news conference that he was reserving judgment on the House’s temporary spending bill until he sees whether it will actually pass the House.
“I think we first have to see what the House sends us, and then of course, how to deal with that will be up to the majority leader,” the Kentucky Republican said. “But the first step should be a decision by the House. I guess we don’t know yet.
McConnell said the government should not be shut down under any circumstances, explicitly rejecting Trump’s request for a shutdown.
“A government shutdown is always a bad idea,” he said.
Thune quotes military predictability
Senate Republican Whip John Thune of South Dakota was critical of House Republicans’ six-month stopgap spending bill that could delay negotiations on a dozen annual government funding bills until early next year.
That could adversely affect the Senate’s efforts to review, hold hearings and vote on the next president’s Cabinet nominees in the first months of the new year.
“I think that’s a very fair look at what might happen next year, and I think that’s something that everyone needs to consider when we decide how long CR should last,” Thune said.
Thune also cited the negative impact of a longer temporary spending bill on the Department of Defense and military readiness.
“When we fund the government, we should do it in a way that provides predictability and certainty, especially to our military planners,” Thune said. “So I think it’s a short-term argument, and try to resolve these issues before the new Congress takes office in January.”
But he said Senate Republican leaders are planning to consider the positions of those who want a longer, six-month spending measure proposed by House Republicans.
“There are some people who think betting on next year is a good strategy,” Thune said. “We’ll be hearing from everyone over the next few days and then, depending on what the House sends and what Schumer decides to do with it, we’ll Find out how to respond.”
U.S. Newsroom reporter Ariana Figueroa contributed to this report.
