A key member of the House Freedom Caucus says there’s a “zero” chance that the government shuts down amid divisions over a funding bill.
“Zero, zip … it’s not going to happen,” Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.) told The Hill when asked the likelihood of a government shutdown given the Freedom Caucus’s latest concerns about a short-term spending bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR).
“You’re talking about a two-week CR. Right? The Democrats are going to shut down the government over a two-week CR? I don’t think so,” Brat said.
Brat noted that Republicans are working to pass a short-term bill in the House this week with 218 votes before pushing for a longer-term funding measure.
But with a higher 60-vote threshold necessary for passage in the Senate, Republicans would need at least eight Democrats or independents to cross the aisle and vote for a short-term spending bill.
Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said earlier Wednesday that debate is centered on the strategy after Dec. 22, when lawmakers will likely have to pass another short-term spending bill to keep the government running into the new year.
Members of the Freedom Caucus and defense hawks in Congress are pushing leadership to commit to passing a separate defense spending bill alongside a second CR to fund the rest of the government, raising concerns that short-term bills are harmful for the military.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) predicts that the House will pass a short-term bill to fund the government through Dec. 22 and then “I think, at least, you’re going to see us fully fund the military, and the defense package will go.”
“We could do a CR on into January to take care of the other things; the issue is really on the other side of the Capitol right now, not on the House side,” Loudermilk said.
Watch the video above to hear the lawmakers in their own words.