Senate GOP fears Speaker Johnson headed toward shutdown wreck

Senate Republicans are trying to avoid a debacle in which House Republicans forced a partial government shutdown over the weekend, but they are worried that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana)’s narrow grip on power is precarious. Now that I think about it, that seems more and more likely.

Republican senators have warned that a government shutdown for any reason would be a political defeat and jeopardize the outlook for November.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky sent a stern message to his House Republican colleagues Monday afternoon, warning that a government shutdown is not an option.

“Government shutdowns are harmful to the country, and they never produce positive policy or political outcomes,” he warned on the Senate floor.

Congressional leaders over the weekend failed to release text for a bill that would provide funding to the Departments of Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Energy, Transportation, Housing and Urban Affairs, leading to a partial government shutdown starting March 1. The situation is now set.

Senate Republicans expressed frustration Monday afternoon with the lack of agreement, noting that the bill’s funding levels were already tight and that conflicts over controversial policy riders were muddying the process.

McConnell warned that if lawmakers fail to meet Friday’s deadline, “the country will face unnecessary turmoil” in these areas.

He added that funding the government “requires everyone to move in the same direction, toward clean expropriation and away from poison drugs.”

Mr. McConnell’s comments appeared to be aimed at the House speaker and conservatives who advocate adding controversial policy riders to the government’s funding package, according to Senate aides familiar with the negotiations.

Last week, the House Freedom Caucus submitted to Prime Minister Johnson a list of more than 20 policy riders it would like to add to the annual spending bill. They include proposals to cut Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ salary to zero and block the Department of Defense from reimbursing travel expenses. Military members who embrace abortion and defund elements of the Biden administration’s climate policy.

Members of Mr. McConnell’s leadership team echoed his warning that a failure to shut down the government would boomerang on Republicans eight months before elections that will decide control of the White House, Senate and House of Representatives.

“Let me reiterate: A shutdown is always a bad idea. It doesn’t help anyone and is just a disastrous march,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-Va.), vice chair of the Senate Republican Conference. said.

Opinion polls show voters tend to blame Republicans for the government shutdown, and Senate Republicans say they will seek political leverage if Congress fails to keep federal departments funded by Friday’s deadline. I am concerned that the majority of the damage will be incurred.

Asked how much confidence Senate Republicans had in Johnson’s ability to avert a government shutdown, Capito said: I don’t understand them there. ”

Senate Republican John Thune (S.D.), Mr. McConnell’s chief of staff, said he was hopeful that a government shutdown would be averted, but was unsure how things would play out in the House.

“I don’t know. I hope we don’t get there. I think these bills have already been amended very thoroughly in the Senate. If the House can find a way to work through them, we can get this done by the end of the week. “It can be completed, but it will probably be in court,” he said.

Thune’s comments reflect a widespread view among Senate Republicans that it’s up to House Republicans to avoid a government shutdown, and that Senate Republicans are trying to figure out how to back away from brinkmanship. He says he needs to find out.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s difficulty passing even routine legislation in the House of Commons has opened the door for Democrats to claim that the shutdown was due to the speaker’s inability to control his own sessions.

“Unfortunately, my House Republican colleagues are still having a hard time understanding themselves,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Monday afternoon. “So, I ask members of the Senate to be flexible with their schedules. The attitude of Senate Democrats is very clear right now: We want to avoid a government shutdown.

“But for that to happen, Congressional leadership must resist the centrifugal forces of extremism emanating from the far right,” he warned.

Lawmakers face a new deadline for funding the remaining government agencies on March 8, but they have reached an agreement on funding for the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, Department of Labor, and Department of Health and Human Services. (traditionally more controversial).

Other members of the Senate leadership team who came out of Monday afternoon’s meeting said they were unsure how the House speaker intended to meet the funding deadline.

“It seems very uncertain right now. I think we’re heading in the next direction. [continuing resolution] The period is uncertain, but that’s all I can say,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).

He said he expects federal departments that will be short on cash on Friday will be covered by a stopgap spending package, but wonders: “What will we do next week?”

National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Steve Daines (Montana), who is tasked with regaining the Senate majority, expressed hope Monday that a shutdown can be avoided.

Asked how a government shutdown would affect voters ahead of Election Day, he said, “I hope we can find a way to get through this and hopefully avoid it.”

Republican senators are not risking a fight with House conservatives as Johnson pushes through a funding bill that could pass the Democratic-controlled Senate and be signed by President Biden. I’m worried about that.

A small group of conservatives could force a leadership election by filing a motion to vacate the speaker’s chair. It’s a tactic they used to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in October after he advanced a short-term government funding package with no strings attached. The big spending cuts they wanted.

One Republican senator expressed “concern” that Johnson was at risk of taking advice primarily from a small group of advisers, rather than seeking advice from a wider range of senior colleagues.