House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell are on a collision course as the House is set to vote on a stopgap funding fix to avert a government shutdown.
The vote is expected to come on Wednesday night and would give negotiators an extra week to finish a $1.7 trillion year-end spending package. This would set up an all-out legislative sprint before officials take their leaves for the holiday season.
Stopgap Funding Fix
The stopgap fix would prevent a government shutdown and will extend federal cash through Dec. 23. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also said that the Senate could pass the measure as early as Thursday, given there is no "unwelcome brouhaha," which was a reference to the power of any one senator to hold up the funding fix in exchange for concessions or amendment votes.
The voting of the House on the stopgap measure comes after leading appropriators finally agreed on a deal Tuesday night on a bipartisan framework. That deal would pave the way for a sprawling year-end funding bill that would increase federal agency budgets for the current fiscal year, as per Politico.
Senate Appropriations Ranking Member Richard Shelby of Alabama declined to provide further details regarding the broader spending deal. The official only said that negotiators were now needed to "do some allocation." Shelby added that "we've made the first big, big, big, big step."
On the other hand, House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut said on Wednesday that she was confident that House Democrats can pass the massive spending package once it was finalized. The official noted that earmarks will help build support for the legislation.
According to CNN, last week, McCarthy criticized McConnell, saying that Republicans were "wrong" if they wanted to cut a year-end spending deal with Democrats. He instead said that the GOP should punt the issue until 2023 when Republicans take control of the House.
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Internal GOP Dispute
McConnell's remarks took multiple senators by surprise as while he signaled privately his willingness to a large spending deal, Republicans did not expect him to take a shot at McConnell.
On Tuesday, McConnell said that the deal in the works was "broadly appealing," which was followed a few hours later with McCarthy saying, "hell no." House Republicans were the only caucus that did not support the spending agreement that was supported by top House and Senate Democrats and Senate GOP leaders.
The situation is the latest disagreement between two GOP leaders who have been criticizing each other over a range of issues this past Congress. These include bills to bolster the country's infrastructure, new gun safety programs, and a boost of semiconductor chip production.
Democrats and several Senate Republicans have expressed little interest in letting talks about the stopgap funding fix drag into next year. However, Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, who is set to lead the Appropriations Committee after the GOP assumes the majority, said that such a delay was the only responsible course of action, the New York Times reported.
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