Some Republicans lawmakers are already casting the blame for the looming government shutdown on members of their own party as their latest attempt to prevent the shutdown was blocked.
On Friday, 21 Republicans voted against a stopgap bill to extended funding until Oct. 31.
“There are 21 Republicans who just voted to defund the United States military and keep the border open. They need to be called out by name. I mean, this is not a Republican shutdown. This is a shutdown – If we don’t get this done soon – that is caused by 21 individual members of the Republican conference,” Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) said.
Other lawmakers, like New York congressman Rep. Mike Lawler are putting the blame squarely on Rep. Matt Gaetz.
“There’s only one person to blame for any potential government shutdown, and that’s Matt Gaetz,” Lawler said. “He’s not a conservative Republican. He’s a charlatan. And as far as I’m concerned, when you’re working with Democrats to try to vacate the speaker, you’re a joke. This needs to come to an end.”
With a shutdown more likely, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y) is urging McCarthy to bring the bipartisan continuing resolution passed by the Senate up for a vote in the House, saying it is the only path forward to prevent a shutdown, according to The Hill.
But, several hardliners in the House have threatened to remove McCarthy from his leadership role if he passes a spending bill that requires any Democratic votes to pass.
