Republican senators are growing increasingly alarmed at Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) inability to pass spending legislation over the staunch opposition of a small group of conservative rebels, and fear a government shutdown may be days away.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), who’s had to deal with the political fallout of government shutdowns in 1995-96, 2013 and 2018-19, warned Republican lawmakers on the other side of the Capitol on Tuesday that shutdowns are “a loser for Republicans, politically.”
McConnell made his comments after House Republican leaders canceled a key procedural vote on a stopgap funding measure that was scheduled for 2:30 pm Tuesday amid opposition from disgruntled conservatives.
A strong House Speaker might work with the Democrats to come up with something that both the Democrats and the saner-by-comparison Republicans could support. Then, when the Freedom Caucus had their toddler temper tantrum, they’d be overruled.
But McCarthy instead gave all the power to a handful of our people whose goal seems to be “give me everything I want - even the things I think up on the fly - or I’ll burn down the government. Also, I might just burn down the government anyway.”