With just four days before government funding expires, there is still no clear path to avert a shutdown.
The House and Senate are on a collision course with no resolution in sight as the two chambers have diverged over strategy for dealing with the looming deadline when government funding runs out on Saturday at midnight.
The Senate has taken a bipartisan approach – unveiling a stopgap bill on Tuesday negotiated between the two parties to keep the government open through November 17, but there’s no guarantee the measure will pass in the House.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy has thrown cold water on the prospect of bringing up the Senate bill up for a vote and has instead outlined a different course of action – saying that the House will consider a separate conservative stopgap bill with border provisions.
McCarthy indicated this will happen regardless of whether GOP leadership is confident the votes are there to pass it, daring hardliners within his own party to vote against it.
House Republicans have been riven by internal divisions and demands from hardline conservatives have taken center stage as the possibility of a shutdown looms.
“We’re going to need more time. So we will pass a continuing resolution, bring that up hopefully on Friday that would keep government open, but at the same time, deal with the border,” McCarthy said on Wednesday.
A number of hardline conservatives, however, have voiced opposition to any kind of short-term funding bill.
Tennessee Republican Rep. Andy Ogles said he remains a “no” on a short-term spending bill despite the fact leadership implored members in conference to work as a team.
“Buckle up. There’s turbulence ahead,” Ogles said.
McCarthy signaled on Wednesday there is not sufficient support in the House for the Senate stopgap bill after meeting behind closed doors with GOP conference members railing against the bill.
“I don’t see the support in the House,” McCarthy told reporters when asked if it is a non-starter.
As each chamber takes its own path, the odds of a shutdown grow by the day.
House Rules Chairman Tom Cole said that he is not confident that the American people won’t wake up to a shutdown Monday morning.
“Obviously, we’ve got our challenges here as well and the two chambers are a long way apart. So again, I am not at all confident we won’t end up in a shutdown,” said Cole, a Republican from Oklahoma.
Schumer praised the Senate for taking a bipartisan approach and criticized House Republicans for focusing on a party-line strategy.
“Every bill House Republicans have pushed has been partisan … every path they have pursued to date will inevitably lead to a shutdown,” he said.
In addition to extending government funding into November, the Senate’s bipartisan bill includes $6.2 billion in Ukraine aid and $6 billion for natural disasters. The Ukraine provisions set up another clash with the House as many conservatives do not want to approve more assistance to the war-torn country.
The Senate has its own challenges to face as GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has said he will slow walk any bill with additional Ukraine funding. Without the consent of all 100 members to speed up the time it takes to consider the bill, it’s not clear whether the chamber could pass the measure before the shutdown deadline.
Schumer on Wednesday warned against members trying “last-minute delay tactics” over passage of the bipartisan stopgap bill, which he said could risk a shutdown.
“There’s still much more work to do,” he said in remarks on the Senate floor. “Now that we’re on the bill, it will require consent and cooperation to move it swiftly through the chamber. We cannot have members trying last-minute delay tactics and risk a shutdown”
This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.