Congress Just Guaranteed More Government Shutdown Drama In November

Congress over the weekend dropped back and punted the issue of a partial government shutdown into next month. With broad support from both sides of the political aisle, a government spending bill was passed and signed with little time to spare.

The stalemate was broken, at least temporarily, when the House agreed on a “clean” bill that did not include further billions for Ukraine.

Key for Republicans was the plan included funding an additional $16 billion for federal disaster assistance. Democrats in the runup to the weekend showdown insisted on linking these funds with more money for Ukraine — proving once again their fondness of political blackmail. 

Despite the eventual separation of disaster funding from Ukraine, the disagreements that led to weeks of wrangling were not resolved. This means more of the same in coming weeks as yet another deadline now looms over the budget process.

One of the primary concerns facing Republicans going forward is the inability of the House GOP members to work together. Shutdowns are a risky business, but certainly there could have been more extracted from Democrats than voting on Ukraine aid separately.

Movement on Joe Biden’s border crisis, for one, immediately comes to mind.

Pressure could have been applied to Senate Democrats on an issue that the overwhelming majority of Americans blame on the White House. That route was left untaken. 

Some noted that breakaway Republicans left the House majority with no choice but to appease the minority. This removed any leverage or advantage the party possessed with sheer numerical strength.

This in effect left leadership with no choice but to pursue a bipartisan plan that did not include changes close to conservative hearts. In the end, a stopgap measure that satisfied no one was the result.

With only a slim majority in the lower chamber, leadership was stripped of its power by breakaway representatives. And now there are calls to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from his role over the agreement reached with Democrats.

And still, in less than 45 days, this drama will repeat itself. It is advisable for House Republicans to get on the same page and wring concessions from the Democratic opposition that benefit the American people. 

As it currently stands, precious little was accomplished to show for several weeks of a dramatic standoff.