Kevin McCarthy’s replacement tasked with passing legislation to fund the government but issues that toppled predecessor persist
Good morning, US politics blog readers. Once again, the US government is days away from a shutdown, and there’s no concrete plan to avert it. Much of the focus today will be on Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, who is tasked with getting legislation to fund the government through his unruly and deeply divided chamber. It’s a particularly perilous mission for him, since his predecessor Kevin McCarthy was forced out of his post after working with Democrats to keep the government open a few weeks ago, and several of the dynamics that ended his speakership still exist in the House.
Johnson reportedly wants to propose a bill to fund different parts of the government for different periods of time, but many lawmakers view that as too complicated, and it’s unlikely to get much traction in the Senate. In that chamber, Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is said to be moving forward with his own bill to keep the government going, but it, of course, will need the OK of the House, where conservative lawmakers want spending cut dramatically. Lawmakers have quite the knot to unravel, and the stakes of failing to do so would be a shutdown starting after 17 November with unpredictable consequences for both parties, and Joe Biden.
Biden and Chinese president Xi Jinping will meet on 15 November, the White House just announced. It will be their first meeting in a year and the leaders “will discuss issues in the U.S.-PRC bilateral relationship, the continued importance of maintaining open lines of communication, and a range of regional and global issues”.
Senate Republicans managed to disrupt an attempt by Democrats on the judiciary committee yesterday to send subpoenas to two prominent conservative activists involved in arranging luxury travel for supreme court justices.
Derek Kilmer and Brian Higgins, both Democrats, and Republican Brad Wenstrup, announced they would retire from the House yesterday. None represent competitive districts.
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