Conference fails to approve procedural motion to take up defense spending bill as government shutdown looms
The House Republican speaker, Kevin McCarthy, was dealt his second humiliating defeat of the week on Thursday, when his conference again failed to approve a procedural motion as members continued to clash over government spending levels with just days left to avert a federal shutdown.
With no clear path forward in Republicans’ negotiations, the House concluded its work on Thursday without any stated plan to reconvene on Friday.
“Discussions related to [fiscal year 2024] appropriations are ongoing,” Congressman Tom Emmer, the House Republican whip, said in a statement. “Members are advised that ample notice will be given ahead of any potential votes tomorrow or this weekend.”
Not if the Dems agree to vote to keep him. He could play this like an intelligent human being and still keep his job, so long as he’s willing to weather a bit of right-wing media blowback for the next few months. He just has to strike a bipartisan deal, like he’s supposed to.
Not if the Dems agree to vote to keep him
That seems a tall order given his long history of biting the Dem’s hands every time they reach out. This is a problem of his party’s own making and stems from not honoring their earlier agreements around the debt ceiling.
Besides, they can’t agree to something he hasn’t (and won’t) ask for.
That seems a tall order given his long history of biting the Dem’s hands every time they reach out. This is a problem of his party’s own making and stems from not honoring their earlier agreements around the debt ceiling.
I don’t disagree. I’m just saying Dems could offer to vote to keep him in his position in exchange for a bipartisan deal. That doesn’t mean they capitulate completely, just that they offer him something he wants (his job) in exchange for something they want.
Besides, they can’t agree to something he hasn’t (and won’t) ask for.
I didn’t say they’ve asked or are responsible for agreeing to anything, please follow the whole thread. I was responding to someone who said he’d lose his job if he worked with Dems on a bipartisan deal. He wouldn’t if they threw him the bone of a vote to keep him if his caucus moves to vacate him as Speaker. I’m not commenting on the likelihood of anything like this happening, simply that it’s possible.
Working with the Dems will make his next Primary difficult, he hasn’t got that long before that comes around again. This is what he, and a lot of the more moderate republicans are really scared of, being cut off from the grift by their own party.
You’re right, but it’s certainly a calculation that will change as pressure mounts. Is the political cost of working on a bipartisan compromise bigger than the cost of a shutdown he’ll be blamed for? Right now, maybe not. Over time? It might very well get there. It’s a lose-lose proposition at the moment, he just has to decide which loss he’s more afraid of.
To have a functioning government. There’s 0 chance there will be a democratic speaker. There’s a pretty good chance nothing works, and normal people don’t get paid for weeks or months if bipartisanship is out.