Republicans appeal to the far right to avoid US government shutdown

With just a week left before the United States runs out of money to keep the federal government running, warring factions within the Republican Party in the US Congress have shown no signs of coming together to pass a stopgap funding bill.

So far, Congress has failed to complete any of the 12 regular spending bills to fund federal agency programs in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.

House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy will unveil an ambitious plan this week to win passage of four major bills, including military and homeland security funding.

By doing so, McCarthy hopes to demonstrate enough progress for far-right Republicans to support the stopgap spending bill, also known as a continuing resolution, or CR.

Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, a 19-year congressional veteran who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, called on the party’s group of “resisters” to stop blocking Republican-backed spending bills while at the same time “saying to not bring bipartisan bills to the floor.”

“Republicans need to vote for Republican bills” to avoid a shutdown, McCaul said on ABC’s “This Week.”

But some “holdouts” who want deep spending cuts that go beyond the deal approved earlier this year have shown no sign of relenting.

“Continuous resolutions do not solve the problem. They just brush the problem under the rug,” Republican Representative Tony Gonzalez told CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”

In June, President Joe Biden signed into law an increase in US debt that he brokered with McCarthy, which resulted in about $1.5 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years.

Far-right House Republicans want to go further with about $120 billion in additional cuts for the new fiscal year alone, which could affect programs ranging from education and environmental protection to IRS enforcement and medical research.

Similarly, Republican Rep. Tim Burchett told CNN’s “State of the Union” that he has never voted for a temporary funding bill and will not do so this time.

He warned that if McCarthy allows the legislation to pass the House with Democratic support, “I would strongly consider” a move to remove McCarthy from his speakership.

“This dysfunctional Washington cannot continue,” Burchett said, referring to the way Congress manages the federal budget, which is on track for a $1.5 trillion deficit for the fiscal year that ends Saturday.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg warned in an interview with ABC that a government shutdown will require his agency to immediately suspend air traffic controller training courses at a time when air travel is “returning to normal” after a large volume of flight delays and disruptions last year.

(By Richard Cowan and Sarah N. Lynch)

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