(Bloomberg) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Oct. 1 announced calls for a one-month extension of the U.S. government shutdown, including an 8 percent temporary spending cut for domestic agencies and construction of a border wall. Involves restarting work.
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McCarthy presented the plan to Republican lawmakers in a conference call Sunday evening as negotiators representing key factions within the House GOP settled on demands to temporarily fund the government for 31 days. A House vote on the measure is scheduled for Thursday.
The demands, which include provisions to reduce the ability of immigrants to claim asylum in the United States, are unpalatable to most Democrats and are unlikely to be accepted by the Democratic-led Senate. This means the bill does not reduce the risk of a shutdown.
The bill also does not include emergency war funds for Ukraine or natural disaster aid, including aid for victims of the Maui wildfires and a hurricane in Florida, requested by President Joe Biden’s administration.
McCarthy immediately faced opposition from some GOP ultraconservatives who could scuttle the plan. Six hard-right lawmakers immediately announced their opposition. McCarthy could only afford to lose four Republicans without Democratic support.
Read more: Migration clash emerges as flashpoint in GOP shutdown fight
But if McCarthy and the plan’s authors can unite Republicans behind the strategy, it will clear the way for the House to vote on the temporary funding proposal. Efforts to pass funding measures in the House have stalled amid clashes between GOP hardliners and moderates.
McCarthy was so frustrated by hardliners’ opposition to any spending measures that he dared them at a meeting on Thursday to try to oust him as leader.
The new proposal comes after days of talks between the leaders of the two main factions of the Republican Party. Byron Donalds, negotiator for the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus, and Dusty Johnson, leader of the more moderate Main Street Partnership, presented the plan in a conference call.
Still, the plan quickly ran into objections from the hard right, jeopardizing its chances in the House.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said the GOP proposal was “extreme” and would “cut funding to the National Institutes of Health, including funding for cancer research, defunding the police, and The resources of important allies, such as Ukraine and Israel, will decrease.
Earlier Sunday, McCarthy said he hoped to avoid a shutdown because it would hurt Republicans’ leverage in negotiations over federal spending.
Read more: McCarthy says government shutdown would be self-defeating for GOP
“I want to make sure we’re not closed,” McCarthy said on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures. “I don’t think this is a win for the American people and I believe it will weaken our hand if we shut down.”
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