So here we go again. Another week in Washington in
which the threat of a government shutdown exists.
So how realistic is a shutdown?
By the end of this week,
a shutdown threat scale doesn't really exist,
but if it did, it would likely look like this.
Back in September. The threat of one was high because
former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy was at risk
of losing his job if he took the wrong course.
Ultimately, he lost his job after he averted a shutdown
with government funding set to expire on November 17th.
The shutdown threat as we begin the week.
Is a bit lower from two months ago.
Because the political pressure on the Speaker of the House
isn't as high,
but the threat of 1 is still there because this
is Speaker Mike Johnson's first big leadership test.
For even more perspective, we'll start by showing you a
can slowly moving down the sidewalk where Yep,
someone kicks the can down the road.
And that is essentially where lawmakers are at the moment
when it comes to averting a shutdown.
Congress is not in a position right now to pass
a long term budget,
so the proposed ideas right now are short term fixes.
Many Democrats want something known as a clean CR,
which stands for a continuing resolution that keeps government funding
at current levels and kicks the can,
so to speak, until December or perhaps early next year.
Speaker Mike Johnson hasn't rolled that out entirely,
but his team has floated something known as a ladder
to CR.
While a clean CR funds every government agency until a
future date,
a ladder approach would fund some agencies until one date
and others until another date.
The purpose of this would be to encourage a long
term budget to eventually pass.
Democrats have widely criticized this.
Of course, there are other disagreements too,
to start the week, like whether to include aid to
Israel or Ukraine in a bill to keep the government
open.
The White House would like that,
but some House Republicans have previously criticized the need for
more Ukraine assistance and suggested aid to Israel be offset
with cuts to the IRS.
Joe Saint George Scripts News,
Washington.