Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) warns his colleagues that it would be “politically beyond foolish” if Congress were to stumble into a government shutdown just weeks before Election Day, and says Republicans would “certainly” take the blame.
McConnell made his comments a few hours after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) plan to vote this week on a bill that combines a six-month transitional arrangement with a law supported by former President Trump that requires proof of citizenship to vote. Johnson was forced to pull the same bill off the ground last week despite broad opposition within his own party.
Democrats warn that they view the voter registration language as a “poison pill” that will destroy the funding package.
While McConnell did not call on House Republicans to abandon their plans to introduce a bill that has no chance in the Senate, he made it clear that he wants to see some kind of bipartisan compromise in the next 13 days to avoid a shutdown.
“A government shutdown is not possible. It would be politically foolish to do that so close to the election, because the blame would certainly fall on us,” McConnell told reporters on Tuesday.
“One of my favorite venerable sayings is that the second kick of a mule does not bring education. We have seen that before. I am for anything that prevents a government shutdown, and that will obviously ultimately become a discussion between the [Senate] Democratic leader and Speaker of the House of Representatives,” he said.
In response to warnings from Republican lawmakers that the resolution pending in the House for six months to continue the process would harm defense programs, McConnell said, “I think we’ll have to wait and see what the House sends us.”
Johnson canceled a vote scheduled for last week on the six-month interim funding associated with the Trump-backed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act because of disagreements within his own caucus. Only one Democrat in the House, centrist Rep. Jared Golden (Maine), has pledged support for the measure.
Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Washington) expressed frustration that Johnson is sticking to his plan to pass a six-month resolution linked to controversial voter registration reform.
“I don’t understand why he keeps beating a dead horse. We have a responsibility to keep our government open. No poison pills – do it in a bipartisan way,” Murray said Tuesday.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) indicated on Tuesday that he expected Johnson’s proposal to fail in the House of Representatives and expressed hope that the speaker would then sit down with Democrats.
“We hope that after this vote, he will sit down and negotiate a bipartisan, bicameral bill,” Schumer said after the Democrats’ weekly lunch in the Senate.
