Speaker McCarthy and GOP Race Toward Government Shutdown

After failing to pass a government funding bill loaded with spending cuts and border policies, House Republicans late Friday afternoon began discussing Plan B — which may mean ditching border security provisions.

The House is set to reconvene at 10 a.m. Saturday, even though Republicans remain in disarray and have no plan to keep the government open — with a small faction still ready to shut it all down to get their way.

Plan A — the GOP bill to fund the government through Oct. 31 with spending cuts and border security provisions — failed earlier Friday 198-232, with 21 Republicans voting no.

A few hours after the vote, the GOP Conference sat behind closed doors for more than two hours debating what to do next, floating multiple versions of a short-term funding bill to keep the government open.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy left the meeting with an unexpected admission. Despite days of demanding any funding plan include border security policies, the California Republican suggested he may let the crusade go — at least temporarily to keep the government open.

That's a major reversal for the embattled speaker who earlier Friday vowed he would not "surrender to the liberals" and agree to a plan that did not strengthen border security.

"I think if we had a clean [funding extension] without Ukraine on it, we could probably be able to move that through," McCarthy said. The Senate is in the process of moving its own stopgap funding bill with $6 billion in Ukraine aid, but McCarthy said that "that could cause real problems" for his members.

McCarthy acknowledged that a border-free shutdown prevention plan still lacked consensus as House Republicans "continue to work through trying to find the way out of this."

Their "Plan B" seemed to be all over the map, depending on which Republican spoke about the new rescue mission when leaving the meeting.

But most agreed the party wants to keep the government open as the clock races to a shutdown at 12:01 p.m. Sunday.

"Saturday night at midnight, Washington’s going to turn into a big pumpkin, and we’re in a real difficult space right now,” Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., said. “I think we need to get a good night’s sleep, come back here tomorrow, try to rally around another proposal, try to get something sent over [to the Senate.]”

While McCarthy was ready to concede on the border, many Republicans were not.

"We're moving to a consensus of a shorter-term [funding extension] that has stuff for the border," Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., told The Messenger. "The border is the greatest crisis we have right now, besides the debt."

The problem with determining whether that could pass is that most of the 21 opponents to the similar month-long stopgap that failed were not in the room, Murphy said.

Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., agreed with Murphy's assessment that the leading option appears to be a shorter version, potentially two weeks, of the failed conservative bill with border provisions, as well as spending cuts.

"We're gonna work it, see if we can't get to 218 [Republicans] on it," he said. "I think that's the best option we have right now."

Reps. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., and Dan Bishop, R-N.C., two of the 21 members who voted against the first GOP bill, expressed openness to a one-week version of the conservative plan.

But other Republicans left the meeting saying a clean funding extension, as McCarthy floated, has a better shot at passing.

The length of that extension was up for debate. Options discussed were one week, two weeks or even a month, according to Rep. Dan Crenshaw.

"The idea being — we live to fight another day," the Texas Republican said.

Crenshaw said the funding extension would also carry emergency disaster aid funding.

Rep. Tom Cole said he is skeptical Republicans can get enough votes for another partisan bill. A clean extension of current funding levels "is my leading option," the Oklahoma Republican said.

Extending exising funding levels would require help from Democrats, Cole and other Republicans acknowledged.

"Likely that's a possibility," House Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry said. But the Pennsylvania Republican said he won't vote for a stopgap bill that does not cut spending. 

"Total capitulation" to Senate Democrats, Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., said of the clean funding extension talk.

Texas GOP Rep. Chip Roy said he would oppose any bill that does not take steps to secure the border, his top priority.

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said the idea of a 14-day stopgap funding measure was floated, but he wouldn’t be in favor of it. Burchett is among a seemingly growing number of conservatives who would oppose any type of temporary stopgap funding bill, saying they want separate votes on each government spending bill. 

Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, the House speaker's most outspoken critic and who also opposes any type of temporary stopgap, walked past reporters without answering any questions as he left the meeting early.

Gaetz has threatened to force a motion to vacate McCarthy from the speakership if he works with Democrats to keep the government open — an option that is now actively in play.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said his disparate GOP conference, which has been at war within itself over funding for over eight months, is "still working through it all" as the Louisiana Republican walked by reporters after the first two hours of the marathon meeting.

"Making traction," House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., said as he breezed past, indicating that McCarthy and his deputies may not be much closer to clinching a deal than before their latest defeat.

McCarthy said House Republicans will keep plugging away at the unfinished single-subject spending bills conservatives have listed as their top priority but would not specify what leaders might bring to the floor on Saturday with just hours to go before federal funding officially expires.

Cole, the House Rules Committee chair, said his panel is always ready to convene within an hour's notice to prepare a new bill for floor action. The Oklahoma Republican spends a lot of time in his Capitol office waiting, smoking cigars.

The Messenger asked how many cigars he has stocked up as the funding deadline approaches.

"Almost infinite," he said. "We restocked two or three days ago. I said [to staff], 'Fill them up and check every morning.' And they've been doing it."