McConnell Signals GOP Support To Avoid Government Shutdown

While Congressional Democrats are nowhere near a deal on a $3.5 trillion social spending package, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi planning to move forward with a Thursday vote on the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that’s doomed to fail due to party infighting, Republicans are set to grant them a minor victory.

On Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) predicted that the Senate would pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) to avoid a partial government shutdown – suggesting that enough Republican Senators will support the Democratic measure due for a vote later in the day.

“The Continuing Resolution contains a number of key items that Republicans call for,” said McConnell. “That includes supplemental funds to resettle Afghan refugees, and hurricane recovery aid for Louisiana.”

McConnell then said it was “seriously disappointing” that Democrats wouldn’t let them fund Israel’s Iron Dome, adding “It honestly baffles me that defensive aid to our ally, Israel, has become a thorny subject for the political left. But overall, this is encouraging progress.”

“On government funding, what Republicans laid out all along was a plain, continuing resolution, without the poison pill of a debt limit increase. That’s exactly what we’ll pass today.“

#BREAKING: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) says a government funding deal will go through and a shutdown will be avoided. pic.twitter.com/X9BjZJwW2N

— Forbes (@Forbes) September 30, 2021

The CR is a stop-gap measure which temporarily provides funding for the government through December 3rd, at which point Congress will need to issue another CR to fund the remainder of the fiscal year.

As we noted earlier Thursday, the Democrats’ hopes of passing $4.6 trillion in legislation anytime soon appear to be slim.

Despite moderate Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia refusing on Wednesday to back his party’s $3.5 trillion spending plan  – calling it the “definition of fiscal insanity,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi still plans to hold a vote on the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that House progressives vowed to sink unless the $3.5 trillion plan was passed in tandem.

In short, looks like the government won’t shut down – but the debt ceiling and the spending packages remain in limbo.