Kevin McCarthy claims only ‘a few people’ truly want a government shutdown

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) predicted the “few people” gunning for a government shutdown will cave when it’s “crunch time.”

McCarthy addressed a press gaggle at the Capitol Saturday to acknowledge the possibility of a government shutdown. However, the GOP leader appeared calm and smiled when asked about it.

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“I think there are a few people that want to take it all down. For different reasons, for different reasons,” McCarthy said. “I just do not believe 99.9% of the Republicans want that. I don’t think that’s productive.”

Meanwhile, there’s yet to be a solution to fund the government before its Sept. 30 deadline. McCarthy assured everyone there were still days left to come together.

“I think when it gets to crunch time, people that have been holding off all this time blaming everybody else, will finally, hopefully, move off,” McCarthy went on to say. “Because shutting down, and having border agents not get paid, your Coast Guard not get paid — I don’t see how that’s a victory.”

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On Saturday the House Rules Committee advanced four appropriations bills, with a full House vote anticipated on Tuesday. Should it pass, it will allow the chamber to negotiate with the Senate from a stronger position. McCarthy and his allies have expressed hope that it builds goodwill from some of the holdouts who oppose a continuing resolution and that it could convince them to support one. At the very least, the hope is that those holdouts won’t block a resolution from the floor.

It will be impossible to tell what the vote could be ahead of time, as the speaker said he has often heard promises from members of Congress only for them to behave differently on the floor. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) urged members to let his office know if they are thinking about voting no on the rule.