Conservatives’ demands for controversial policy additions to spending bills are stalling efforts to fund the government by Friday, nudging the country closer to a partial government shutdown and sparking frustration among lawmakers in both parties.
Congressional leaders failed to unveil the long-awaited compromise appropriations bills over the weekend, blowing through a Sunday target date floated last week and, as a result, leaving members wondering about a path forward just days ahead of the looming deadline.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said House Republicans were responsible for the holdup, writing in a letter to colleagues Sunday that conservatives in the lower chamber “need more time to sort themselves out.” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), however, dismissed his “counterproductive rhetoric,” saying that new requests from Democrats had delayed the process.
That’s what they’ve been doing since September. Now it’s time to pass a damned budget.
Eh. I’m not expecting they will.
A shutdown is the only thing the house leadership can accomplish that they’ll think even might help them. And that’s only because it’s the only thing they can accomplish by doing nothing.
Unfortunately for them, we’ve been here before with this house and they aren’t going to be able to simultaneously not do their jobs, cause a shutdown, and somehow successfully blame Biden for it.
Sure, of course some will eat up that narrative…but only the people who matter least in November. These are the voters who are already frothing at the mouth to go cast their straight ticket GOP votes anyway. So the only thing the house is doing is firming up support in a demographic where they need it least.
In every single other demographic, a shutdown weakens support for them.