House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries floated an end-run around Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy Wednesday in order to avert a possible government shutdown in the coming days.
Jeffries suggested that if McCarthy refuses to put forward a continuing resolution (CR) that Democrats will support, the Democratic majority should pass its own CR that is targeted to open up the government for business. This CR would cover the nine federal agencies and departments that are currently not funded, including the departments of Agriculture, Justice and Homeland Security.
Jeffries noted that the Democratic version of the CR could be funded for the remainder of this fiscal year. He went on to say that this would then give Congress time to work on a broader spending package.
The Democratic version of the CR would likely pass in the House with little difficulty, but it is unclear how it would fare in the Senate where it would require 60 votes to advance due to the filibuster. With just 53 senators in the Republican caucus, it would likely require some Democratic support to pass.
It is unclear how McCarthy will respond to Jeffries’ end-run proposal, but it seemingly provides Democrats with another option should he refuse to negotiate.
