Biden doesn’t think weekend shutdown will happen
WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders reached agreement Thursday on a spending bill that would keep the government running through mid-February, though a temporary federal shutdown was still possible this weekend as some Republican senators threatened to slow-walk passage because of the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
The measure would generally keep spending at current levels through Feb. 18 while adding $7 billion to aid Afghanistan evacuees. If the House approves the measure Thursday, as expected, it would await Senate action before a midnight Friday deadline.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, had pushed for a shorter duration, but Republicans said more time was needed to settle differences on a spending package covering the entire budget year through September.
“While I wish it were earlier, this agreement allows the appropriations process to move forward toward a final funding agreement which addresses the needs of the American people,” DeLauro, D-Conn., said in a statement.
President Joe Biden said he has spoken with Senate leaders and he played down fears of a shutdown.
“There is a plan in place unless somebody decides to be totally erratic, and I don’t think that will happen,” Biden said.
Conservative Republicans opposed to Biden’s vaccine rules want Congress to take a hard stand against the mandated shots at large employers, even if that means shutting down federal offices over the weekend.
It was just the latest instance of the brinkmanship around government funding that has triggered several costly shutdowns and partial closures over the past two decades. The longest shutdown in history happened under President Donald Trump — 35 days stretching into January 2019, when Democrats refused to approve money for his U.S-Mexico border wall. Both parties agree the stoppages are irresponsible, yet few deadlines pass without a late scramble to avoid them.
One GOP senator after another, after leaving a private lunch meeting Wednesday, expressed concern that they will be blamed for even a short shutdown that will not play well with the public. In the Senate, any single senator can hold up proceedings to stall a vote.
But Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wasn’t backing down.
He said Democrats knew last month from a letter that several Republicans would use all means at their disposal to oppose legislation that funds or allows the enforcement of the employer vaccine mandate. He blamed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for not negotiating and for ignoring their position.
If the choice is between “suspending nonessential functions” or standing idle while Americans lose their ability to work, “I’ll stand with American workers every time,” Lee said.