Speaker Kevin McCarthy is struggling to pass a bill to fund the government — and the White House isn’t about to throw him a lifeline.
With just days to go before the government runs out of money, Biden’s team is watching Congress steam toward a shutdown, resigned to the reality that there’s little they can do now to fix the situation and confident the politics will play out their way.
President Joe Biden has steered well clear of the chaos engulfing the House, where Republicans are battling each other over a government funding bill. Within the White House, aides have settled on a hard-line strategy aimed at pressuring McCarthy to stick to a spending deal he struck with Biden back in May rather than attempt to patch together a new bipartisan bill.
“We agreed to the budget deal and a deal is a deal — House GOP should abide by it,” said a White House official granted anonymity to discuss the private calculations. Their “chaos is making the case that they are responsible if there is a shutdown.”
Biden world’s wait-and-see approach comes against the backdrop of an increasingly likely shutdown, which would be the first of the Biden era.
On Tuesday, GOP leadership canceled plans for a procedural vote on a short term funding bill, wary it had the numbers to pass. Hours later, hard-right conservatives tanked a procedural vote related to a defense spending bill. Moderate House Democrats have been working on a last-ditch fall back option to avert a shutdown, but any final product will need approval from the Senate.
For now, the White House is staying out of the mix, trying instead to draw a contrast between the House majority that can’t complete the task of keeping the government’s lights on and Biden, who on Tuesday addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York. It’s also highlighting the price of the latest GOP plan, such as, in their estimation, cutting 800 Customs and Border Protection agents and 110,000 Head Start positions for children.
The administration has hitched its wagon to a Senate effort widely supported by members of both parties in that chamber. The top Republican and Democratic appropriators are working on long-term, bipartisan funding bills that adhere to the agreed upon spending levels, although they have accepted that a stop-gap funding bill will be needed. There is a sense in the White House and on Capitol Hill that support for the Senate bill would increase if it becomes evident that McCarthy can’t steer his conference.
Getting involved now, White House officials reasoned, would only lend credibility to an attempt by conservative lawmakers to effectively rip up the Biden-McCarthy deal agreed to during debt ceiling talks in the spring and extract deeper cuts from the administration. It also would risk further angering progressives, who already didn’t like the funding levels in that spring agreement.
“The White House is there. The House Democrats are there, and the Senate Democrats and Republicans,” said Rep. Rosa Delauro (D-Conn.), the Democrats’ top appropriator. “It’s just this recalcitrant group of House Republicans.”
The administration is not entirely hands off, though. Senior administration officials, chiefly OMB Director Shalanda Young, have been in touch with lawmakers in both chambers and parties.
Why would anyone want to play ball with the GOP? It’s clear that they will throw anyone and everyone under the bus to get what they want. Why help the drowning man who will only pull you in to try and escape with your wallet?
And it’s not even like there’s one GOP to deal with. You have the MAGA Freedom Caucus who don’t seem to have any actual budgetary goals beyond “give us everything we want or we’ll burn it all down - and we might just burn it all down anyway!”
Then there’s the rest of the GOP who might not agree with MAGA, but cowers in fear of them and refuses to speak up against them. (At least, until they retire. Then, they suddenly grow spines and speak out.)
Theoretically, the Democrats could come to a deal with the non-MAGA Republicans, but they’re too busy shaking in fear of the MAGA Republicans calling them traitors and RINOs.
“C’mon man, we were just funnin’ ya! This time we won’t cheat, I promise!”
- knocks over the goalpost just in time for the ball to bounce off the edge -“What the fuck was that?! I told you, this is my fucking ball so I make the rules and the rules say you can’t score a fucking goal no matter what! I’d hate for you to break my rules or else I might have to do something unreasonable like rob your grandparents and starve all the neighborhood children.”
- shoves the ball into your stomach, knocking the wind out of you -- shouting even though everyone is nearby -
“Ok, since Brandon can’t seem to remember the rules, I’m going to have to change them again! Now we all ARE going to rob our grandparents and starve the neighborhood children. Anyone who doesn’t like it is gay! Oh yeah, and grooms kids!”
Why throw them a lifeline? Earlier this year, McCarthy and Biden made a deal on the budget to avert a default. Now McCarthy has to uphold his end of the bargain- it’s his job to pass a budget in-line with what he and Biden agreed to.
When people are negotiating in bad faith, don’t negotiate.
I’ve been yelling this in my brain since Obama. Actually, before that as well, just Obama was when the voice in my head became noticeably louder.
Sen. John Fetterman: “If those jagoffs in the House stop trying to shut our government down, and fully support Ukraine, then I will save democracy by wearing a suit on the Senate floor next week.”
Then he wears a tan suit and they get triggered all over again
Let Fetterman Be Fetterman
Don’t fetter the man.
Tsk Tsk, he’s holding Democracy hostage to protect his own personal hobbyhorses.
Thanks Politico, this article added exactly nothing to the conversation.
Next it’ll be: “parents decline to negotiate with toddler who wants to take the safety covers off all the electrical outlets.”
They’re reporting on what’s happening. They’re not supposed to be adding to the conversation.
Too many people have forgotten that news is only supposed to be facts. The rest is just opinion and entertainment.
It’s also highlighting the price of the latest GOP plan, such as, in their estimation, cutting 800 Customs and Border Protection agents and 110,000 Head Start positions for children.
OK, that they hate children, especially poor children, is nothing new. But how do they expect to reduce illegal immigration when they cut down on border protection agents? I mean, they are not smart, but that should be something that even they realize, shouldn’t it?
Because then they can scream about open borders knowing that their base is either too dumb to know or doesn’t want to know the truth.
I’d bet a government shutdown would be much along the lines of the covid “shutdown”. Essential peons and all. Hell, I’d bet we would save money if the only checks we didn’t sign were those with elected official behind their name.
We’ve had many govt shutdowns, they always screw over working class federal employees
What about covid do you think didn’t screw over working class people? You think grocery store clerks enjoyed being told the country cannot go on without them yet never addressing their shit pay and shit working conditions?
Oh yeah, we all said “thank you.” As they exposed themselves to hundreds of potentially infected people every day.
Not sure that’s a fair comparison. People got paid. Here, they don’t get paid.
They tend to get paid retroactively after a deal is reached.
So it’s just a huge waste of government resources while we (eventually) pay for people to not work.
Meanwhile it’s a huge warning sign that you shouldn’t work for the government or you’ll have to deal with this shit every time the Republicans throw another tantrum.
… got paid a grocery store clerks salary…
Which is infinitely more than $0? Not sure what your point is?
I think my point was putting your life in danger for minimum wage while being told you’re the single thread holding society together is dystopian.
