A shutdown, but about what?
Right or wrong, federal government shutdowns typically have a central theme.
The 34-day shutdown in 2018 revolved around President Donald Trump wanting to build the border wall. The 16-day shutdown in 2013, was about U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz trying unsuccessfully to end Affordable Care Act.
But the looming shutdown this year is harder to pinpoint. While U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, and others have wanted to make it focused on border security, other Republicans have muddied that for weeks by mixing in demands to end Ukraine funding or defunding the prosecution of former President Donald Trump. And yet others, have focused mostly on wanting deeper spending cuts than the original budget deal House Speaker Kevin McCarthy already agreed to President Joe Biden in May.
Friday's vote in Congress only adds to the confusion. Some House Republicans voted with Democrats to tank McCarthy's latest plan to cut spending 30 percent in some federal agencies and increase spending on border security, including continuing the border wall Biden blocked in 2021. Reporter Ben Wermund has more on the split within the Texas Republicans in Congress here.
U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston, has been frustrated for weeks with those holdouts, telling NewsNation reporters that they've never clearly spelled out their demands.
"It's like they wanted us to lose," he said.
It essentially leaves the House without a starting point to counter a bipartisan Senate spending plan that McCarthy has already said he won't allow to be voted on, even though it would likely have the votes to pass and keep the government open. Thus, the shutdown on Saturday night looks more likely by the minute.
 | Jeremy Wallace, Texas politics reporter |
Who's up, who's down
The first-term Democrat from Dallas was all over national news after passionately rebuking Republicans during a hearing in the U.S. House for their attempts to impeach President Joe Biden. Crockett was on all the big cable shows and was trending on social media after blasting the GOP for having no evidence of any crimes. "He has unfortunately been guilty of loving his son unconditionally, and that is the only evidence that they have brought forward." Even Mark Hamill, aka Luke Skywalker, took notice.
Down: Kevin McCarthy.
The House Speaker took one on the chin when the short-term spending plan he was backing went up in flames with four Republicans from Texas helping kill it. It was not likely to stop the government shutdown, but it would have more clearly outlined the House's position.
What do you think? Hit reply and let me know.
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Pick of the day
Photo by: Nadya Hassan
Justin Timberlake and Chris Stapleton help with this week's Texas Take podcast with me and Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report. We'll talk about the upcoming special session of the Texas Legislature, the latest on the border and much more.
What else I'm reading
When North Carolina voted last week to expand Medicaid as part of the Affordable Care Act, it became the 40th state to do so. The non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities writes in part about how expanding Medicaid has helped boost rural hospitals in other states. They point out that 74 percent of rural hospital closings have happened in states that did not accept expanded Medicaid. Texas is one of 10 states that still has refused to expand it.
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