Both the House and Senate are not in session today for the Yom Kippur holiday. The House will reconvene for votes at 6:30 P.M. tomorrow and the Senate at 3:00 P.M. tomorrow.
With just five days left before a government shutdown, both sides of the Capitol are scrambling to find a solution, with few real options. On the House side, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) is in a hapless position as Republicans are looking to advance four spending bills early this week, an effort that will not help avoid a shutdown but one that Republican leaders are hoping will make their members who are opposed to a continuing resolution (CR) more open to a stopgap bill. The House GOP conference has been unable to coalesce around a partisan CR, which leaders want to pass to put them in a stronger negotiating position with the White House and Democrats in the Senate. The chamber is expected to vote on a rule, which governs debate on legislation, for four spending bills Tuesday, legislation that funds the Department of Defense; Department of Homeland Security; Department of State and foreign operations; and the Department of Agriculture, rural development and Food and Drug Administration. House GOP leaders unveiled a GOP-crafted continuing resolution last week that would keep the government funded until October 31st, decrease spending to fiscal 2022 levels, include the bulk of the House GOP’s marquee border bill and create a commission on the national debt to examine mandatory and discretionary spending. But even after announcing the plan to advance the appropriations bills, a handful of hard-line conservatives have said they are still not supportive of any continuing resolution.
With the funding deadline inching closer by the hour and the House without a solid path to averting a shutdown, the Senate this week will move ahead with its own plan to pass a stopgap bill. The House traditionally moves on spending and revenue bills first, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) is pressing ahead as House Republicans remain divided. The chamber is slated to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to the House-passed bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), legislation that could serve as the legislative vehicle to pass a continuing resolution. If the Senate does pass a bipartisan stopgap bill and sends it to the House, it could spell trouble for Speaker McCarthy, who faces pressure from his right flank to oppose a continuing resolution and, if he has to swallow one, make sure it includes spending cuts and conservative policy riders. A number of conservatives have said McCarthy could face consequences if he works with Democrats to keep the government open. Upping that pressure a notch, hard-line Republicans have heightened their threats to force a vote on ousting the Speaker, depending on how the spending fight goes.
