McCarthy expresses frustration as GOP holdouts threaten progress ahead of government shutdown

With just six days until federal funding is set to lapse, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is expressing cautious optimism that he can wrangle enough members of his party to begin advancing appropriations bills and a temporary stopgap measure to avert a government shutdown this weekend.

However, the Republican leader is acknowledging it won’t be without challenges.

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The House is scheduled to take its first procedural votes to advance their individual spending bills later this week, a typically routine process that has been repeatedly upended by hard-line conservatives seeking to take control of the appropriations process. However, McCarthy has conveyed confidence he can muster enough support to sway those holdouts, whom the speaker has expressed frustration toward for obstructing progress.

“We’ve had these posted since July, but we had some members … that would shut the floor down and we couldn’t do anything,” McCarthy said. “Apparently they’re willing to work now.”

Lawmakers are set to reconvene on Tuesday evening to vote on advancing a combined rule that contains four appropriations bills, teeing them up for votes as soon as this week. Those four bills include spending for the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and State and Foreign Operations appropriations.

After that, McCarthy said he hopes to bring some sort of continuing resolution or temporary spending measure to the floor sometime this week ahead of the shutdown deadline — a move several hard-line conservatives have vowed to oppose. McCarthy criticized those members Monday morning, noting objections to keeping the government open would only result in critical agencies losing funding.

“If people want to close the government, it only makes it weaker. Why would they want to stop paying the troops or stop paying the border agents or the Coast Guard? I don’t understand how that makes you stronger. I don’t have to stand what point you’re trying to make,” McCarthy said. “I couldn’t understand why somebody would want to do that.”

It’s not yet clear whether there is substantial support among House Republicans to advance appropriations bills this week, especially after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) announced she was a “hard no” against the rules vote scheduled for Tuesday. McCarthy can only afford to lose four GOP votes, giving him little room for error.

Congress has until Sept. 30 to pass the budget for the next fiscal year, after which the government will run out of money and shut down until a deal is made. By then, lawmakers must advance 12 individual appropriations bills in each chamber before sending their final product to the president’s desk for approval, setting the stage for an arduous process as House Republicans and Senate Democrats disagree on overall spending numbers.

It’s unlikely the House or Senate will be able to advance all 12 appropriations bills and negotiate a compromise before the shutdown deadline, prompting some lawmakers to consider a continuing resolution that would keep the government funded at the same levels until a final agreement is reached.

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However, that idea has been shot down by at least a dozen conservatives in the House, meaning McCarthy will either need to stretch his hand across the aisle to work with Democrats on a stopgap measure — possibly putting his speakership at risk — or wait for the Senate to advance its own agreement. Even if the House can manage to pass a continuing resolution, it’s not yet clear whether the lower chamber can advance the legislation in time to avoid a partial shutdown.

“I’m a believer in everything,” McCarthy said. “I never give up.”