Speaker McCarthy has informed Mitch McConnell that the House won’t be taking up the stop-gap government funding bill from the Senate.
He says that he cannot support a bill that funds Ukraine but does nothing to fix the border:
“NEW — MCCARTHY said he told MCCONNELL that he cannot take up a bill that funds Ukraine and doesn’t fix the border. In other words, if it wasn’t clear, the CR the Senate is taking up is dead on arrival in the House. McCarthy said if House Republicans pass a CR it makes them talk about the situation at the border.”
NEW — MCCARTHY said he told MCCONNELL that he cannot take up a bill that funds Ukraine and doesn't fix the border.
In other words, if it wasn't clear, the CR the Senate is taking up is dead on arrival in the House.
McCarthy said if House Republicans pass a CR it makes them…
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) September 27, 2023
McCarthy is still trying to pass a funding bill of his own and here’s what he told his Republican caucus this morning in their meeting via Sherman:
“@SpeakerMcCarthy said when you have internal infighting, you can’t win. “When we focus, we are in a much better place,” McCarthy told a closed meeting of House Republicans this morning. “But it’s three against one now.” KM says Biden would love a shutdown to knock his bad news off headlines”
“MCCARTHY CONTINUES … In the last shutdown, we had the White House and they made it as painless as possible. (He’s referring to 2018-2019 shutdown) Under Obama, McCarthy says, they locked bike racks around the monuments. And we responded with emotion, KM says.”
“MORE MCCARTHY FROM CLOSED GOP MEETING: Let’s get all 12 spending bills passed, McCarthy implores his colleagues. Biden is “most vulnerable” on the border. 11,000 ppl came through yesterday. KM says Dems could be tempted to vote for GOP border provisions. He adds that if they focus on the border, that would put Biden in a tricky spot”
According to The Hill:
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is going all-in on border issues as he takes a second shot this week at passing a GOP-only short-term funding bill that would pair an extension of government funding with a swath of border policy changes.
McCarthy is racing against a competing continuing resolution (CR) unveiled in the Senate on Tuesday and a Saturday government shutdown deadline.
In trying to coalesce is fractious conference around a stopgap funding proposal of his own, the Speaker is aiming to reframe the funding battle as a choice for President Biden — and his hard-line opponents as siding with the president on border issues.
“The president could keep government open by doing something on the border,” McCarthy said on Tuesday.
There are some members who have said they want to stay and work all weekend in order to get this passed to avoid a government shutdown. I have a feeling that’s where this is headed, but who knows if they’ll be able to do it at this point. If there is a shutdown, I’m sure Biden will try and make it as painful as possible for people in order to try and keep the focus on Republicans.