By averting a government shutdown, Kevin McCarthy risks his job
AMERICA’S CONGRESS stunned the world on September 30th by doing its job: passing a last-minute bill to avert a shutdown of the federal government that had seemed certain. However, the stopgap legislation came at the expense of extending American support for Ukraine, and may prompt further acrimony. Kevin McCarthy, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, is facing a challenge to his authority from his own party.
For weeks Mr McCarthy had tried to placate hardliners in his camp pushing for steep spending cuts and other conservative policies, such as stricter border enforcement, that had no chance of becoming law with Joe Biden in the White House. Yet with just hours to spare before a shutdown, he called up a bill that tossed aside the priorities of the far right and relied on Democratic votes to pass the legislation, which Mr Biden signed minutes before the midnight deadline. Indeed, more Democrats than Republicans supported the bill.
Although a shutdown had appeared inevitable all week, it was also inevitable that Mr McCarthy would have to rely on Democrats if he wanted to keep the government open. Republicans have such a slim majority in the House—221 to 212—that the party’s nihilists in effect have a veto over any Republican-only legislation. The surprise was that Mr McCarthy, who has been in senior House roles during three shutdowns, chose compromise over closure.
2023-10-01 12:44:06
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