Divided House GOP struggles to avoid a government shutdown
House Republicans will try to pass Speaker Mike Johnson’s bill to fund the government this week and avoid a shutdown on Oct. 1.
WASHINGTON — Divided House Republicans stumbled last week in their effort to pass Speaker Mike Johnson’s bill to fund the government.
They’ll take another crack at a stopgap funding measure this week with just 15 days remaining until money runs out — and growing concerns about a federal government shutdown, including among top Republicans who worry about the political fallout for their party so close to the Nov. 5 election.
“A government shutdown is always a bad idea, at any time,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters.
Johnson, R-La., is “going to have to get the votes — and he’s in the majority, so he’s got to figure out what the right combination is,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. “It’s sort of like a Rubik’s Cube.”
Cornyn, who is running to be the next Senate GOP leader, didn’t express a preference on the length or details of a stopgap bill, saying only: “I’m for keeping the lights on. That would be my main goal.”
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