Government Shutdown Appears Likely this Weekend

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is expected to bring a new short-term spending bill to the House floor by the end of the week, though there are numerous obstacles to passage that make a government shutdown this weekend likely.

McCarthy’s continuing resolution is expected to look similar to a bill negotiated by several members of the Republican Main Street Caucus – which wants to avoid a shutdown – and three members of the conservative Freedom Caucus. That bill included deep spending cuts and border security measures.

Another option is to take up the short-term CR that the Senate advanced overwhelmingly Tuesday night. That bill, endorsed by the White House, would keep the government funded through Nov. 17 and includes roughly $6 billion in aid for Ukraine plus another $6 billion for disaster relief. If House Republicans go that route, they would likely strip out the Ukraine funding and tack on border security measures.

McCarthy has been under fire from hard-right Republicans, who have blocked his efforts to pass a short-term bill to prevent a shutdown and are threatening to try to oust him as Speaker. McCarthy this week has ramped up his calls for border security. “The president can keep government open by getting something on the border,” McCarthy told reporters Tuesday.

President Biden said he and McCarthy had agreed months ago on spending levels for the government. “We made a deal, we shook hands,” he said. “Now a small group of extreme House Republicans don’t want to live up to that deal, and everyone in America could be faced with paying the price for it.”