GOP lawmaker predicts shutdown will be avoided 

Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) predicted on Friday that a government shutdown will be avoided as one looms.

“Do you believe that Republicans will be able to avoid a government shutdown?” NewsNation’s Blake Burman asked Harris on “The Hill.” “And do you think shutdowns are useful tools, or not?”

“There will not be a government shutdown, you know, one month before an election, that I can tell you,” Harris responded. 

Lawmakers are racing to avoid a shutdown before the end-of-the-month deadline.

Former President Trump on Tuesday seemed to urge his party to halt government funding in the circumstance that legislation does not feature “assurances on Election Security.”

“If Republicans in the House, and Senate, don’t get absolute assurances on Election Security, THEY SHOULD, IN NO WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM, GO FORWARD WITH A CONTINUING RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET,” Trump said on on Truth Social.

Last year, a fight over government funding within the GOP ultimately led to the ousting of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and lasting turmoil for House Republicans. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) received his current role following McCarthy being kicked out of the Speakership.

In his interview with Burman, Harris said shutdowns could have a chance of being “a useful tool” in time more distant “from an election.”

This year’s Election Day is less than two months away, with important seats of power in both houses of Congress and the presidency up for grabs. Vice President Harris is currently leading Trump in an average of national polls from The Hill/Decision Desk HQ by 3.5 points.

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