Washington this morning is waiting for House Speaker Mike Johnson to release his plan to keep the government funded past Friday, with Johnson and other leaders planning to brief House Republicans in a 3 p.m. call.

Given the timetable (less than a week), Johnson’s experience dealing with shutdown politics (near zero), and the level of disarray in the GOP conference (high), the chances of a shutdown are growing.

Sources on the Hill and at the White House said they are adjusting travel plans accordingly and preparing to spend the holiday in D.C. A last-minute short-term clean CR is always possible, but over at the White House they are not holding their breath.

Aides are betting on Johnson not being able to figure this out and are preparing along two tracks.

  • @DarthBueller
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    -26 months ago

    What is a “head of lettuce handy” and where can I get one? Are we talking about one that you can get in a car, or is this more of kind that you get at a commercial establishment?

    • shuzuko
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      6 months ago

      Not sure if I’m not getting your joke or you’re not getting mine, but just in case it’s the latter (or for anyone else wondering about the lettuce) -

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz_Truss_lettuce

      Tldr: a British tabloid live streamed a head of lettuce the entire time Liz Truss was PM to see which would last longer. Spoiler, it was the lettuce.

        • @DarthBueller
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          16 months ago

          Yes. I infer that “handy” is an American slang word that isn’t common in the UK, based on this interaction. I’ve got no skin in this game, just having fun.

          • shuzuko
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            16 months ago

            Not British, just of the wrong gender to consider that type of dirty joke 😉

        • shuzuko
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          16 months ago

          Ah, as I am a sister who generally does not talk about “handies”, it very much flew over my head 😂