Are we headed for a government shutdown?
If it seems like we go through this every couple of months, you’d be right. But this time, some hard-right Republicans seem willing to let a shutdown happen, damn the consequences.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was shot down again when he tried to push a popular defense spending bill …and five conservatives blocked him, asking for yet more spending cuts.
A frustrated McCarthy told reporters: “I don’t understand why anybody votes against bringing the idea and having the debate. This is a whole new concept of individuals that just want to burn the whole place down. That doesn’t work.”
An equally frustrated Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic House minority leader, slammed the Conservatives:
“House Republicans continue to be held captive by the most extreme element of their conference, and it’s hurting the American people,” Jeffries said at a press conference. “Why are the American people facing down another manufactured GOP crisis? They need to end their civil war.”
With only 8 days until the deadline, the Republican faction is refusing to even meet this weekend.