GOP Rep. Tim Burchett says he would consider voting out Speaker McCarthy if he can’t close the deal with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown
- Rep. Burchett said he’s open to voting out McCarthy if the chairman can’t strike a deal to keep the government funded and avoid a shutdown
- The House of Representatives went on recess for a long weekend despite a tight schedule to pass the 12 annual appropriations bills that fund the federal government
- Speaker McCarthy is having trouble uniting moderate and far-right members of his party — let alone dealing with Democrats’ interests
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said he is open to impeaching Speaker Kevin McCarthy if he cannot reach an agreement in time to prevent a government shutdown.
But Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters (California) predicts the shutdown is inevitable at this point as Republicans refuse to commit to one deal — and a MAGA wing of the party continues to push for Chairman McCarthy’s departure.
A government shutdown could last just a few days as the spending bill for the last fiscal year expires on September 30.
Meanwhile, McCarthy is having trouble reconciling the desires of moderate Republicans and the party’s far-right factions, let alone dealing with Democrats’ wave of divergent priorities.
When asked in a CNN State of the Union interview Sunday morning whether he would be in favor of removing McCarthy from his role as speaker, Rep. Burchett responded, “That would be something I would strongly look at.”
“If we fail in our duty, which we have said, we will do so,” Burchett told CNN host Dana Bash. “They’re all talking about the promise he made with Biden a year ago… What about the promise we made to the American public that we were going to be responsible Americans?”
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said Sunday that he would be open to voting out House Speaker Kevin McCarthy if he fails to strike a deal to keep the government funded and to prevent a closure.
“We’re going to rule over a pile of rubble if we’re not careful,” the Tennessee Republican added. “Our financial ship is sinking – and the American public needs to realize that all these fancy titles, CRs and omnibuses, confusing the American public are not working. The curtain is out. We must do our duty. We should be back in Washington by now to deal with it. But what are we doing? Well, they sent us home.”
Despite the tightening of the deadline, the House of Representatives took a long weekend instead of remaining in Washington DC to advance at least some of the twelve bills introduced to prevent a shutdown.
The government is funded each year by twelve appropriations bills, each covering different agencies or groups of agencies. In recent years, some or all of these bills have been combined into one “omnibus package” and passed jointly.
All parts of the government whose appropriations are not approved and signed by midnight on September 30 may be closed. With less than a week until that deadline, it’s likely the federal government will be at least partially shut down.
Rep. Waters says she is certain some agencies will have to close their doors until appropriations for the next budget year are approved.
“We’re headed for a shutdown,” Waters said in an interview with MSNBC’s Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart.
Meanwhile, Democrat Maxine Waters is confident there will be a government shutdown due to the Republican Party’s ‘disorganization’ and ‘chaos’
She added: “The Republican Party is in complete disarray. It’s chaotic.’
“The Speaker is on his knees begging, but he sold his soul when 15 roll calls had to be taken so he could become speaker, and now he is out of control. We are heading for a shutdown.”
Waters was referring to the fact that the House had to hold 15 separate votes to actually approve McCarthy as speaker when Republicans gained control of the House during the 2022 midterm elections.
Now that chaos is catching up with Waters’ Californian colleague.
Despite months of efforts to get separate factions of the party to work together, lawmakers are now blaming their leader in the House of Representatives for the inability to get legislation passed.