Bipartisan Revolt Imperils House Bill To Avert Government Shutdown

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, and GOP leaders, including incoming House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif., right, arrives to meet with reporters at Republican National Committee headquarters on Capitol H... House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, and GOP leaders, including incoming House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif., right, arrives to meet with reporters at Republican National Committee headquarters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 15, 2014. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) MORE LESS
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House Republican leaders are skating on thin ice with the government funding bill, facing stiff opposition from the left and the right that threatens passage just hours before a midnight deadline to avert a shutdown.

GOP leaders temporarily recessed the House and postponed a final vote scheduled for the afternoon, while informing members to be ready to vote.

“Leadership teams are still talking to their respective Members. A vote is still planned for this afternoon,” a House Republican leadership aide said.

Republicans long expected some opposition from their right flank due to the fact that the $1.1 trillion spending bill doesn’t block President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration. What has thrown the plan into chaos is that numerous House Democrats are defecting over extraneous policy provisions that would weaken derivative trading rules on big banks and loosen campaign finance laws. The bill likely will need significant Democratic support to pass.

The Democratic opposition is being led by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (MD) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA), who call the bank provision a giveaway to Wall Street.

According to multiple sources, the legislation was negotiated by GOP and Democratic leaders in the House and Senate. House Democratic leaders stress that they don’t support all the provisions in the bill but want to keep the government open. They say they are not whipping against the bill.

The White House came out for the bill after it cleared a test vote in the House by a narrow 214-212 margin earlier on Thursday. It said it objects to the weakening of Wall Street reform but signaled Obama would sign the bill anyway.

A fallback plan Republican leaders are considering is to pass a short-term spending bill for two or three months to maintain the status quo and kick the task to the next Congress.

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Notable Replies

  1. Of course, the president is going to come out and support it. He isn’t going to say that he wants the government to shut down even though he should because of this bullshit with Dodd-Frank and also campaign finance.

    All the democrats need to stop rolling over and taking whatever the republicans want to give them. That’s how they lost the midterm elections.

  2. Avatar for bd2999 bd2999 says:

    Seems they should oppose it if they are just trying to undo everything in it. I imagine those are in there just to try and get the conservatives into it. However, they are on to the next thing. It must contain all GOP policy riders to be good for them.

    As you know, spending bills are the best place for all issues to be hidden.

  3. Good for the Progressive Caucus. Its simple economics, supply and demand: If Boehner wants/needs Dem votes to carry the bill, we DEMAND you don’t gut our already passed legislation.

  4. “…staking on thin ice…”

    ?

  5. “It said it objects to the weakening of Wall Street reform but signaled Obama would sign the bill anyway.”

    Oh for fuck’s sake. It’s not like you have to run-for re-election Mr. President. Issue a veto-threat if this watering down of Wall St. regs is in the bill. Nobody on the left or right will scream if you hold firm on not giving away more of the farm to Wall St.

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