WASHINIGTON, D.C. – Congress now has less than a week to finalize a budget before the government shuts down. All eyes are on the House right now. There’s republicans fighting among each other on these budget bills and recently, former President Donald Trump weighed in on the shutdown, further complicating this situation.
Trump said in part on social media: “Republicans lost big on the Debt Ceiling, got NOTHING, and now are worried that they will be BLAMED for the Budget Shutdown. Wrong!!!” He also told republicans “UNLESS YOU GET EVERYTHING, SHUT IT DOWN!”
A couple of far-right House republicans have been toying with the idea of a shutdown unless their demands are met but many republicans in the House feel otherwise. They don’t see the benefit of shutting down the government, which causes mass furloughs and halt certain programs
Days before the deadline, Moody’s Investors Service, a credit ratings agency, has signaled that the US risks its top credit rating with a government shutdown. The analysis said a shutdown would highlight the weakness of US institutional and governance strength compared to other top-rated governments.
The House is so narrowly divided, Speaker McCarthy can’t afford to lose more than four republican votes on a spending bill. Last week, the House was unable to pass some of these budget bills.