Just four days out from a government shutdown, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has declared a bipartisan Senate stopgap measure dead on arrival.
Senators, having apparently lost faith in McCarthy’s ability to stave off a shutdown, negotiated a bill late Tuesday night that funds the government until Nov. 17 and includes $12 billion in aid and disaster relief for Ukraine. It’s expected to be voted on by the end of the week before being sent over to the House, and is intended to buy lawmakers more time to hash out a longer-term deal, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said.
But, according to Punchbowl News, McCarthy said in a closed-door meeting on Wednesday morning that he wouldn’t take up a bill that includes Ukraine funding but no border security measures. “I don’t see the support in the House,” he reportedly said.
Aid for Ukraine has been one of several sticking points for ultraconservative hardliners in the House who have repeatedly sabotaged McCarthy’s efforts to get spending bills passed.
He doesn’t need their votes. He needs the Democrats and a handful of Republicans.
True, except the Freedom Caucus is threatening to hold a vote to remove him as Speaker if he dares do anything they don’t like.
McCarthy wants to keep his power position (even though, as it’s currently set up, he doesn’t really have much power) more than he wants to help this country. If helping the country would result in some minor harm to the level of power he has, he’ll let America burn.
So make part of the negotiations with the Democrats to support him when they try to remove him as speaker. It’s simple.
This is what I dont get. He could make a deal that he’ll pass that budget as is, but the dems need to vote for it AND they have to have a handful offset the MAGA caucus if they try to remove him. Whats wrong with our congress that they’d rather shut down everything vs working with each other.
Right?
The house is close, but it’s not so close that the Dems can get Jeffries in. The next best thing is letting the GOP absolutely tear each other apart.
Which they’re doing.
And right now, the best way to thread the political needle, would be to basically offer McCarthy a deal with the Dem devil:
Bring the Senate bill to the floor and find just five of your GOP friends to vote for it. In return, we back you when that pedophile Gaetz, she-ape Greene, and Trashy Barbie Boebert set up a recall vote. We’ll back you, and surely you can come up with 5 votes from your own side…right?
