Congress is moving into crisis mode as time runs short to avoid a government shutdown

President Joe Biden advised Republican conservatives against using extreme measures in response to the escalating crisis, declaring that paying for the federal government is “one of the most basic fundamental responsibilities of Congress.”

What would take place if the government were to shut down? History teaches us a lot.

Biden pleaded with the House Republicans to uphold the debt agreement he made with McCarthy earlier this year, which established the federal government’s spending levels and was enacted into law after receiving support from both the House and Senate.

We came to an agreement, shook hands, and declared what we would do. They are now breaking their agreement, Biden stated late on Monday.

“We should stop electing Republicans to the House if they don’t start doing their jobs.”

According to the White House, a government shutdown would have a negative impact on the American economy and the lives of millions of people who depend on federal services or work for the government, including 7 million beneficiaries of the Women, Infants, and Children program, including half of all newborns in the country, who might lose access to nutritional benefits.

Donald Trump, the most likely Republican challenger to Biden, is urging the Republicans in Congress to “shut it down” and overturn the agreement McCarthy struck with Biden as the 2024 elections approach.

Former Trump administration officials, such as those who plan to reduce government spending and the federal workforce if the former president wins the 2024 presidential election, are also encouraging Republicans. With five days left until the deadline on Saturday, the chaos is intensifying as House Republicans convene their first hearing as part of the Biden impeachment investigation this week to look into the business transactions of his son, Hunter Biden.

“Shut it down unless you get everything!” On social media, Trump wrote in all capital letters. “Republicans need to learn how to fight!”

After a turbulent week in which a few hard-right Republicans thwarted his most recent attempts to move a typically popular Pentagon funding package, McCarthy arrived at the Capitol early on Monday. They paralyzed the chamber, and the leaders sent the members home for the weekend with no apparent solution in sight.

McCarthy was hoping the most recent proposal on a bundle of four bills, to fund Defense, Homeland Security, Agriculture, and State and Foreign Operations, would jumpstart the process after the House Rules Committee met on Saturday to prepare for this week’s voting.

Let’s start this, McCarthy said. Let’s ensure that the government remains operational while we complete our task of passing each individual law.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a longtime McCarthy ally and top Trump supporter, said she would vote “hard no” on the Rule to begin discussion since the package of legislation continues to allocate at least $300 million for the war in Ukraine.

Trump’s allies and other hard-right conservatives might follow her example.

Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., commented on the approaching procedural vote, saying that “now you have a couple of new people thinking about voting against the Rule.”

Buck, a former holdout, told reporters at the Capitol that he would support the bill but wasn’t convinced McCarthy would have enough votes to approve it. Buck remarked, “I don’t know if he gets them back on board or not.

Despite having a small number of members, the hard-right Republican party wields enormous power in the House since McCarthy requires almost all of their votes to pass partisan legislation without Democratic cooperation.

Many of the holdouts’ requests have been met by the speaker, but they continue to fight for more. One such demand is to drastically cut financing for Ukraine, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Washington last week is essential to winning the war against Russia.

The extreme Republicans, citing the nation’s mounting debt, want McCarthy to renounce the agreement he reached with Biden and adhere to earlier pledges he made to them in January regarding spending reductions.

A shutdown is not ideal, but, as Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, a key Trump ally heading the right flank, said on Fox, “it’s better than continuing on the current path that we are to America’s financial ruin.”

Gatez, who has also threatened to hold a vote to remove McCarthy from his position, wants Congress to once again take up the customary lengthy, weeks-long process of debating and passing each of the 12 annual measures required to support the various branches of the government.

I’m not for the shutdown, he declared. However, he stated that he wanted to “hold McCarthy to his word.”

Even if the House is able to finish some of those bills this week, which is highly unlikely, they would still need to be merged with related Senate legislation, which is another drawn-out process.

Senators have been working on a temporary measure known as a continuing resolution (CR) to finance the government through Saturday, but they have had difficulty adding Biden’s request for additional funds for Ukraine. A small number of Republicans are opposing the war effort, which they must deal with.

The discussions would go on into the night, according to a Senate aide. Additionally, a representative for the White House Office of Management and Budget stated that the administration would keep collaborating with lawmakers from both parties in Congress to get additional funding and guarantee that efforts to support Ukraine continue alongside other crucial priorities like disaster relief.

Few holdouts say they won’t vote for any interim plan to finance the government as they press for Congress to undertake a full-scale debate with only a few days left before a shutdown.

Seung Min Kim, Kevin Freking, and Mary Clare Jalonick, all of the Associated Press, contributed to this report.