House Democrats tell GOP to advance bipartisan spending bill: ‘Only way forward’

House Democratic leaders are urging their GOP counterparts to come to the table and advance a bipartisan continuing resolution, warning that inaction will result in a “catastrophic” shutdown that will leave millions of government workers without paychecks and deal a hit to the national economy.

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said he has had conversations with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) over the last several days, telling the Republican leader that a continuing resolution is the “only way forward” to avert a government shutdown before federal funding is set to lapse on Oct. 1. His last-minute plea comes just moments after the House failed to pass a GOP-led continuing resolution due to overwhelming opposition from rank-and-file Republicans.

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“We are in the middle of a Republican civil war that has been ongoing for months and now threatens a catastrophic government shutdown that will hurt everyday Americans,” Jeffries said. “There was absolutely no reason that we should be facing a government shutdown at this moment. There is a bipartisan continuing resolution making its way through the Senate that would ensure the government doesn’t shut down.”

Lawmakers voted 198-232 to advance the $1.471 trillion legislation, falling short of the majority vote needed to send the bill over to the Senate. The failure deals a major blow to GOP leadership, making it all the more likely Congress won’t come to an agreement on spending legislation just two days before the government is set to shut down.

The measure failed after 21 Republicans joined all Democrats in opposing the measure, with several hard-line conservatives threatening for weeks that they would vote against any temporary legislation and would only advance single-subject spending bills. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has been among the most vocal opponents, repeatedly warning McCarthy that he would seek to remove him as GOP leader if he advanced a stopgap measure.

Jeffries said House Democrats are “prepared” to work with Republicans on any bipartisan measure, noting that all options are on the table. Some lawmakers, such as Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), said the failed vote should signal to GOP leadership they must advance a bipartisan agreement in order to avert or end a government shutdown, noting a handful of Republicans are considering working with Democrats in order to do so.

“At the end of the day, we have got to get to 218 in the Congress. Not necessarily the [GOP] conference, but the Congress,” he said. “We have a number of us, hopefully, we get some more, that are willing to discharge or take another option to ultimately get something that’s a two-party solution to the floor.”

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However, the Democratic leader said he wouldn’t “hold his breath” to wait for centrist Republicans to sign on to a discharge petition, arguing the only way out is a bipartisan continuing resolution.

“The only path forward is to partner with House Democrats in a bipartisan way,” Jeffries said. “And we’re prepared to do just that.”