Congress Temporarily Averts Government Shutdown, House Fires Speaker McCarthy

Last week, the House and Senate agreed to a last-minute continuing resolution to extend funding for federal program for 45 days, averting a federal shutdown.  The Congressional action had immediate political ramifications for Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who was subsequently voted out of his position of Speaker of the House by an unlikely coalition of a small band of conservative Republicans – unhappy with former Speaker McCarthy’s cooperations with Democrats – and Democrats who voted to end McCarthy’s leadership.  This is the first time in US history that a sitting Speaker of the House has been voted out of the leadership position.

The House of Representatives will now likely spend considerable time and energy trying to elect and new Speaker, effectively diverting time and energy from resolving funding decisions for federal programs.  Many Congressional observers predict Congress will again be flirting with a potential federal shutdown when the current continuing resolution for federal spending expires in November. 

The ATS will continue to urge Congress to do its job and provide uninterrupted funding for federal programs for fiscal year 2024.