Congress is kicking off the New Year racing to avoid a government shutdown. Over the weekend Congressional leaders agreed to a multi-billion dollar spending level to fund both defense and non-defense spending until the end of the fiscal year
The fate of the emerging deal will likely come down to newly elected Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. He must decide whether to bend to the right wing of his party or work with Democrats to get the bill passed and keep the government running.
Working across the aisle, ultimately cost the last speaker Kevin McCarthy his job.
Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer slammed House conservatives now threatening Johnson’s post.
“They think they can bully everyone. They don’t represent the majority of the America, they don’t even represent the majority of Republicans,” Schumer said.
Citing the plans massive price tag Texas House Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) appeared skeptical his GOP colleagues would rally behind it.
“They also added $60 billion just for inflation in one year. That’s not right,” Sessions said Monday.
With just ten days to act, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says Congress should not rule out a short-term plan to give lawmakers more time to negotiate.
“We need to prevent a government shutdown…the simplest things take a week in the Senate,” McConnell said.
For now, both Johnson and Schumer are opposing that option.
