Current:Home > ScamsMcCarthy launches last-ditch plan to keep government open but with steep 30% cuts to many agencies-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
McCarthy launches last-ditch plan to keep government open but with steep 30% cuts to many agencies
View Date:2024-12-23 21:30:59
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is rushing Friday into a last-ditch plan to keep the federal government temporarily open — but with steep spending cuts of nearly 30% to many agencies and severe border security provisions demanded by his hard-right flank though with almost no chance in the Democratic Senate.
McCarthy announced the legislation ahead of a morning procedural vote that will test whether the embattled speaker has the support he needs from his slim Republican majority. So far, the right flank has rejected his efforts as they push McCarthy closer to their demands, threaten his ouster and risk a government shutdown.
The Republican speaker all but dared his hold-out colleagues a day before Saturday’s almost certain shutdown. The bill would keep operations open through Oct. 31.
“Every member will have to go on record where they stand,” the Republican McCarthy said at the Capitol.
Asked if he had the votes, McCarthy quipped, “We’ll see.”
As soon as the floor debate began, McCarthy’s chief Republican critic, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, announced he would be voting against the package, calling its border security provisions insufficient and urging his colleagues to “not surrender.”
The federal government is heading straight into a shutdown after midnight Saturday that would leave 2 million military troops without pay, furlough federal works and disrupt government services and programs that Americans rely on from coast-to coast. Congress has been unable to fund the agencies or pass a temporary bill to keep offices open.
While the Senate is pushing ahead Friday with its own widely bipartisan plan favored by Republicans and Democrats to keep government open, and bolster Ukraine aid and U.S. disaster accounts, the House has been in political chaos as the hard-right flank seized control.
The White House has declined McCarthy’s overtures to meet with President Joe Biden after the speaker walked away from the debt deal they brokered earlier this year that set budget levels.
“Extreme House Republicans are now tripling down on their demands to eviscerate programs millions of hardworking families count on,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Jean-Pierre said, “The path forward to fund the government has been laid out by the Senate with bipartisan support — House Republicans just need to take it.”
Catering to his hard-right flank, McCarthy has returned to the lower spending limits they demanded back in January as part of the deal-making to help him become the House speaker.
The package would not cut the Defense, Veterans or Homeland Security departments, but would slash almost all other agencies by up to 30% —- steep hits to a vast array of programs, services and departments Americans routinely depend on.
It also adds strict new border security provisions that would kickstart building the wall at the Southern border with Mexico, among other measures. Additionally, the package would set up a bipartisan debt commission to address the nation’s mounting debt load.
The hard-right led by Gaetz has been threatening McCarthy’s ouster, with a looming vote to try to remove him from the speaker’s office unless he meets the conservative demands. Still, it’s unclear if any other Republican would have support from the House majority to lead the party.
veryGood! (7)
Related
- Charles Hanover: A Summary of the UK Stock Market in 2023
- The Last Supper controversy at the 2024 Paris Olympics reeks of hypocrisy
- Wetland plant once nearly extinct may have recovered enough to come off the endangered species list
- The top prosecutor where George Floyd was murdered is facing backlash. But she has vowed to endure
- To Protect the Ozone Layer and Slow Global Warming, Fertilizers Must Be Deployed More Efficiently, UN Says
- More ground cinnamon recalled due to elevated levels of lead, FDA says
- Armie Hammer’s Mom Dru Hammer Reveals Why She Stayed Quiet Amid Sexual Assault Allegation
- Gymnastics at 2024 Paris Olympics: How scoring works, Team USA stars, what to know
- Lost luggage? This new Apple feature will let you tell the airline exactly where it is.
- Olympics 2024: Brazilian Gymnast Flavia Saraiva Competes With Black Eye After Scary Fall
Ranking
- As Northeast wildfires keep igniting, is there a drought-buster in sight?
- Atlanta pulls off stunner, get Jorge Soler back from Giants while paying entire contract
- Mississippi won’t prosecute a deputy who killed a man yelling ‘shoot me’
- Tesla recalling more than 1.8M vehicles due to hood issue
- Lululemon, Disney partner for 34-piece collection and campaign: 'A dream collaboration'
- Phaedra Parks returns to Bravo's 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' after 6-season hiatus
- Authorities announce arrests in Florida rapper Julio Foolio's shooting death
- 2024 Olympics: Coco Gauff Tears Up After Controversial Call From Tennis Umpire
Recommendation
-
Skiing legend Lindsey Vonn ends retirement, plans to return to competition
-
Trial canceled in North Dakota abortion ban lawsuit as judge ponders dismissal
-
Man who followed woman into her NYC apartment and stabbed her to death sentenced to 30 years to life
-
Sheriff's deputy accused of texting and driving in crash that killed 80-year-old: Reports
-
UConn, Kansas State among five women's college basketball games to watch this weekend
-
Landslides caused by heavy rains kill 49 and bury many others in southern India
-
US golf team's Olympic threads could be divisive. That's the point
-
Woman killed and 2 others wounded in shooting near New York City migrant shelter