“House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s latest pledge to cut spending—intended to again mollify hard-right members of his party—has put Congress on a collision course with a potential government shutdown later this year,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“To become House speaker in January, the California Republican promised deep spending reductions. To reach a debt-ceiling deal with the White House, he tacked to the middle, agreeing to smaller constraints than conservatives wanted. Eleven Republicans revolted this month, withholding procedural votes and bringing the House to a halt. That prompted the speaker to promise another crack at cuts, this time in the appropriations process now getting under way.”
“This latest pledge drew howls from Democrats who said he was reneging on the bipartisan spending deal. The fight is expected to come to a head this fall when the GOP-controlled House and Democratic-run Senate try to pass an annual spending package. On the line: a possible lapse in government funding that many lawmakers see as increasingly probable, and, once again, McCarthy’s job if he is forced to make concessions hard-liners don’t like.”
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