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House members will vote on a 45-day short-term spending bill Saturday including natural disaster aid the White House has requested; and as the bill is under suspension, it will need two-thirds of the House members to pass, meaning Republicans will need help from their Democratic colleagues, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced.
And the California Republican said that he is not concerned about whether a House member, like Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., will move to throw him out over the bill, reports CNN.
“If I have to risk my job for standing up for the American public, I will do that,” McCarthy told reporters.
The vote was scheduled for 11:45 a.m. EDT.
The negotiations for the last-ditch effort Saturday morning led to the latest attempt to avert a shutdown, and his announcement reflects a shift inside the meeting after lawmakers earlier indicated that the focus would be on bills to minimize a government shutdown rather than to avoid one altogether.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., had told CNN that the House would do “shotgun votes on the floor to take care of funding that’s most essential right now.”
Votes are expected for bills to fund the Border Patrol, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the National Flood Insurance Program, as well as to continue paying military personnel.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., said in a conference meeting Saturday morning that there are not enough votes for a stopgap bill that would avoid a shutdown.
Issa also said there are about six Republicans who firmly oppose a short-term government funding option, meaning that without votes from Democrats, Republicans do not have enough votes to avoid a shutdown. However, Democrats so far have not been willing to vote with Republicans on any funding options.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.