Republicans fight Democrats — and themselves — as shutdown looms
House and Senate Republicans disagree on key government funding issues, and they’ll still need buy-in from Democrats.
By JOHN BRESNAHAN, SARAH FERRIS and SEUNG MIN KIM
12/19/2017 12:21 PM EST
Updated 12/19/2017 04:30 PM EST
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Even as Republicans are poised to pass a $1.5 trillion tax-cut bill, a brewing fight over federal funding may lead to a government shutdown at week’s end.
Speaker Paul Ryan plans to pass a continuing resolution later this week to fund the government until Jan. 19, but there are major disagreements within the House GOP over the move. There are also disputes between House and Senate Republicans, as well as the ever-present struggle with Democrats.
Right now, no one on either side of the Capitol has any clear idea how this three-way funding fight will play out, but all the major factions are digging in. Lawmakers and aides said the House and Senate could end up “ping-ponging†a spending bill back and forth until the issues are resolved, although some worry that Congress could blunder into a shutdown. Ryan on Tuesday instructed lawmakers not to leave town, signaling how concerned leadership is about the Friday funding deadline.
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https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/19/republican-infighting-government-shutdown-304923
