House Republicans Start To Squirm As Shutdown Loses Support

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 14: House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) talks to reporters following his election to House minority leader for the next Congress with Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) (L) and House Majority W... WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 14: House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) talks to reporters following his election to House minority leader for the next Congress with Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) (L) and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill November 14, 2018 in Washington, DC. In the wake of losing more than House 33 seats to Democrats in last week's midterm elections, Republicans elected McCarthy minority leader and Scalise as minority whip for the 116th Congress. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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House Republicans are facing a difficult choice: refuse to vote for Democrats’ funding bills and let the unpopular shutdown continue, or cross the aisle against the White House’s wishes.

According to a Monday Politico report, GOP leaders are worried that many of their caucus members will choose the latter as Democrats bring individual bills to fund different agencies to the floor in lieu of a comprehensive funding package.

While GOP leaders expect defections, they want to keep that number under 55: if that many Republicans join with all the House Democrats, they will create a veto-proof majority. Per Politico, though that would not help things along on the Senate side, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has followed Trump’s orders, it would be a blow to the President and optics of the shutdown.

The separate bills Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) intends to push include funding for SNAP (food stamps), the IRS and federal mortgage programs — all very difficult for Republicans to vote against.

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  1. And the sad thing is, republican concern has nothing to do how it affects people, just their appearance and how it affects their next election.

  2. Pelosi is going to chip away at Trump’s wall until it collapses under its own weight. The main problem is that it is going to take time and Trump will never be able to admit his mistake. She is putting the Repugs in a box where they are damned if they continue to support Trump or damned if they don’t, and the irony is that the whole situation was created by Trump and Paul Ryan.

  3. I would think TSA would be another biggie.

  4. Avatar for jmacaz jmacaz says:

    EXACTLY… let’s see how things look after tonight’s campaign rally.

  5. Avatar for gonzoc gonzoc says:

    Don’t forget McConnell

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