Just hours after another embarrassing setback for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in his quest to avert a government shutdown, members are headed home for the weekend — signaling that with just nine days to go, there is no funding deal in sight.
If votes are scheduled for Friday or the weekend, members will be given “ample notice,” said Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s office. Members will be “on call” through the weekend, Emmer added.
Earlier Thursday, the House failed for the second time this week to bring up the GOP defense spending bill for debate.
Members of a group of Republican hard-liners once again voted against GOP leadership and the majority of their party in a 212-216 vote. Those five Republicans cited a variety of reasons, all broadly linked to frustration with how McCarthy has handled the government funding fight.
McCarthy and GOP leaders will be forced to once again to negotiate with the holdouts on the Pentagon bill — historically the least controversial spending bill — and may have to modify it. But that may risk alienating moderates.
Source-ABC
