Groundhog Day in the House

Playbook: “If at first you don’t succeed… You might not succeed the second time, either. The House GOP is continuing to prove itself ungovernable — and Congress paralyzed — as Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s latest gambit to bring the Defense spending bill to the floor failed again today. A procedural vote went down 212-216, as just enough far-right Republicans jumped ship to tank the rule in a surprise rebuke to House GOP leadership.”

“The stepback: Having reneged on his deal with the White House, McCarthy still hasn’t figured out a way simply to pass the rule to proceed to one of the least controversial of 12 spending bills that don’t stand a chance of making it through the Senate in their House form.”

Punchbowl News: “At this moment, House Republicans can’t govern. This isn’t just an opinion, at this point. It’s a fact that’s been borne out in the Capitol all week.”

“Let’s play this out for a minute here. The federal government is slated to shut down Oct. 1 unless Congress approves more funding. The House Republican Conference, as currently constructed, doesn’t have the ability to move legislation. The Republican leadership is privately absolutely certain that they cannot pass a CR, even if it’s loaded with GOP policies. So a shutdown looks more and more likely every moment of every day.”