WASHINGTON—With no clear strategy, no sure support and not much time left, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy nevertheless vowed Wednesday he would not give up trying to persuade his colleagues to pass a temporary funding bill to prevent a federal government shutdown. But lawmakers watching and waiting for the beleaguered leader to deliver are looking at
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., briefs reporters following a closed-door Republican Conference meeting on how to agree on a path to funding the government, at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023.
“We’re very close there,” McCarthy said. “I feel like I just got a little more movement to go there.” “It’s yet another reminder that in both houses, a small group of hard-right Republicans are dead set to grind the gears of government to a halt,” Schumer said. The House floor is essentially at a standstill, with no business related to the looming government shutdown being conducted, as McCarthy tries to regroup. He has warned lawmakers that they will stay in session this weekend to finish the job.
During the lengthy dinnertime meeting in the Capitol basement, McCarthy offered to meet the conservative holdouts partway, vowing he would fight for a lower overall spending level in the subsequent bills. “It’s a tough job and keeping all of these members appeased is next to impossible,” said Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark.As the Republican lawmakers were fighting among themselves for another day in the Capitol, others reached across the aisle to Democrats to try come up with a bipartisan solution.