Gaetz tries to push out McCarthy after deal averts shutdown - latest

Matt Gaetz will offer a motion to vacate the chair in an attempt to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the far-right Florida Republican told CNN on Sunday morning.

This comes after MAGA Republicans were outraged by Mr McCarthy striking a deal with Democrats on Saturday to avert a government shutdown.

“I do intend to file a motion to vacate against Speaker McCarthy this week. I think we need to rip off the band-aid. I think we need to move on with new leadership that can be trustworthy,” Mr Gaetz told CNN.

Meanwhile, House Republicans seem eager to exact revenge against Mr Gaetz.

News outlets reported on Sunday that Republicans in the lower chamber are looking towards the conclusion of a House Ethics Committee probe into the Republican congressman from Florida in the hopes that the probe’s findings could warrant (or excuse) his expulsion from the chamber.

Donald Trump called for Rep Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) to be put in jail for pulling a fire alarm in the US Capitol complex on Saturday.

The former president bizarrely claimed that Mr Bowman’s behaviour was worse than that of the rioters who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Key Points

• Biden says there’s ‘not much time’ to keep aid flowing to Ukraine and Congress must ‘stop the games’

• ‘It is time to end governing by crisis,’ Biden says

• Trump calls for Bowman to be jailed for pulling Capitol fire alarm

• AOC says she’d consider backing Gaetz push to oust McCarthy as House speaker’s future in question

• Gaetz could be expelled from House over ethics case amid face-off with McCarthy

McCarthy says Ukraine aid won’t happen without border funding

21:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told CBS that a vote on Ukraine aid in the House won’t happen without proper funding for border security.

Trump calls for Bowman to be jailed for pulling Capitol fire alarm

20:58 , Gustaf Kilander, Eric Garcia

Donald Trump has called for Rep Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) to be put in jail for pulling a fire alarm in the Capitol on Saturday.

The former president bizarrely claimed that Mr Bowman’s behaviour was worse than that of the rioters who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

“Will Congressman [Jamaal] Bowman be prosecuted and imprisoned for very dangerously pulling and setting off the main fire alarm system in order to stop a Congressional vote that was going on in D.C.,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.

“His egregious act is covered on tape, a horrible display of nerve and criminality. It was a very dangerous ‘Obstruction of an Official Proceeding,’ the same as used against our J-6 prisoners. Actually, his act may have been worse. HE MUST SUFFER THEIR SAME FATE. WHEN WILL HIS TRIAL BEGIN???” he added.

Mr Bowman admitted on Saturday that he pulled a fire alarm during a House vote but denied he did so to delay it.

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McCarthy tries to claim that ‘Democrats tried to do everything’ to avoid passing funding resolution

20:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Appearing on CBS’s Face The Nation on Sunday, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said: “I wasn’t sure it was gonna pass. You know why? Because the Democrats tried to do everything they can not to let it pass.”

Anchor Margaret Brennan quickly fact-checked him, saying “Democrats were the ones who voted for this!”

AOC says she’d consider backing Gaetz push to oust McCarthy as House speaker’s future in question

20:00 , John Bowden

Democrats may well line up behind a resolution to remove Kevin McCarthy from the speakership as a group of House Republican insurgents launch such a bid in the coming days.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a prominent member of the Democratic caucus, spoke on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday and told Margaret Brennan that there were “absolutely” reasons to question Mr McCarthy’s ability to lead the chamber after a majority of his caucus voted against an emergency measure to fund the government for 45 days on Saturday.

“Speaker McCarthy has been very weak. I think he has also been engaged in just absolutely terrible decision-making for the American people,” she said, reprimanding him for “basic fiscal irresponsibility and recklessness.”

But she declined to specifically endorse a motion to vacate set to be filed by Matt Gaetz, a membert of the Republican holdout contingent that vowed to vote against any continuing resolution to keep the goverment from a costly shutdown.

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Gaetz could be expelled from House over ethics case amid face-off with McCarthy

19:39 , John Bowden

House Republicans seem eager to exact revenge against Matt Gaetz, the far-right lawmaker who served as the public face of a group of GOP holdouts who opposed their party’s attempts to avert a shutdown this past week.

News outlets including CNN and Fox reported on Sunday that Republicans in the lower chamber are looking towards the conclusion of a House Ethics Committee probe into the Republican congressman from Florida in the hopes that the probe’s findings could warrant (or excuse) his expulsion from the chamber.

Since 2021, the committee has been probing a range of allegations against Mr Gaetz, a top ally of Donald Trump. Those allegations including claims that he violated sex trafficking laws, accepted a bribe, and used campaign funds for personal use. The Florida Republican has consistently denied those claims, and a Justice Department investigation into the congressman’s sex trafficking allegations ended without charges in February.

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Biden says MAGA Republicans makes him worried about global view of US

19:30 , Gustaf Kilander

On Sunday, Mr Biden was asked of he’s “concerned about America’s reputation on the world stage given the level of brinksmanship?” during the shutdown fight.

“Based on the MAGA Republicans part, yes. Based on what my administration is doing, no,” he said.

House Republicans to seek to expel Gaetz if ethics report comes back with findings of guilt

19:00 , Gustaf Kilander and Ariana Baio

House Republicans will seek to expel Rep Matt Gaetz (R-FL) if an ethics report finds him guilty, according to Fox News.

After Mr Gaetz said he would seek to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), one House Republican told Fox: “No one can stand him at this point. A smart guy without morals.”

The Independent reported in July that the House Ethics Committee has reportedly revived a probe into Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) regarding allegations of misconduct, as investigators have reportedly begun reaching out to witnesses.

A witness from Florida told CNN they spoke with investigators recently about alleged “lobbying violations.”

Other witnesses have also been contacted by the Ethics Committee, a source close to the matter told CNN.

The Ethics Committee investigation is a continuation of their 2021 probe into Mr Gaetz’s alleged “misconduct” while serving as a representative. It is unclear what misconduct the witnesses were interviewed for, though the initial probe regarded sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, misuse of state identification records and bribery.

Earlier this year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) declined to charge Mr Gaetz after a sex trafficking investigation that was deferred to them by the Ethics Committee upon request.

‘Matt Gaetz is a charlatan’: Republican lashes out at effort to remove speaker

18:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Rep Larry Buchson (R-IN) lashed out at Matt Gaetz (R-FL) for moving to oust Speaker McCarthy (R-CA).

“Matt Gaetz is a charlatan. He is threatening to remove Speaker McCarthy using at least 200 Democrat votes. He has been reaching out to them for votes! Is the hypocrisy lost on anyone? At least 200 House Rs will be voting to support the Speaker, including me,” he wrote on X.

Democrat slams Gaetz: ‘Every time we all work together, he loses his mind'

18:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Rep Greg Landsman (D-OH) slammed Matt Gaetz (R-FL) after his announcement that he’s pushing for a vote to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).

"Every time we all work together, he loses his mind,” Mr Landsman told Axios. “He doesn't want the center left and center right to work together because he has to be the center of attention. When we do, he creates chaos to grab attention back. Matt Gaetz has no interest in governing. This is all about TV appearances for him. If he says it's for any other reason, he's lying. Just let us govern, which is what most of us came here to do.”

Biden pushes for Ukraine aid after funding resolution passed without it

17:38 , Gustaf Kilander

President Joe Biden argued for further Ukraine funding, which was not part of the funding passed on Saturday night to avert a shutdown.

Speaking from the White House on Sunday, he said: “An overwhelming majority of the Congress have steadfastly supported Ukraine to defend itself against the aggression and brutality of the Russian attack on women and children.”

“There's no Ukraine funding this agreement. Despite that, I did not believe we could let millions of Americans go through the pain of a government shutdown. But let's be clear – I hope my friends on the other side, keep their word about support for Ukraine,” he added. “They said they're going to support Ukraine in a separate vote. We cannot under any circumstance allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted.”

“I fully expect the speaker to keep his commitment to secure the passage and support needed to help Ukraine as they defend themselves against aggression and brutality,” Mr Biden said. “There's an overwhelming number of Republicans and Democrats in both the House and the Senate who support Ukraine. Let's vote on it.”

Donalds notes ‘trust issues’ among House GOP as he declines to say if he’ll vote for McCarthy’s ouster

17:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Rep Byron Donalds (R-FL) appeared on Fox News on Sunday morning on chose not to say if he’ll back the effort to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) by Rep Matt Gaetz (R-FL).

Saying that he thinks the speaker is in “trouble,” he added: “I don’t know right now. I got to really think about that”.

“There are a lot of trust issues in my chamber right now,” he added.

He also blamed Mr McCarthy for why he didn’t end up voting on the funding resolution that passed the House and the Senate on Saturday, averting a shutdown.

Watch live: President Biden to make speech after Congress votes to extend government funding likely avoiding shutdown

17:12 , The Independent

President Biden will address the nation after the House and Senate came together in a vote to extend funding for the government, avoiding a looming threat of shutdown.

The Senate voted overwhelmingly to approve a stopgap bill to fund government operations for the next 45 days with three and a half hours to go until a midnight deadline at the end of fiscal year, ending a days-long standoff which had threatened to paralyse federal agencies and leave millions of workers without paychecks.

The upper chamber approved the measure, known as a continuing resolution, by a vote of 88 senators In favour and just nine against at 9.04 pm, only hours after the House of Representatives approved an identical bill put forth by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Speaking on the Senate floor just before senators began voting, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the compromise bill would “keep the government open” and represented “good news for the country”.

Gaetz says he thinks ‘Democrats are going to bail out Kevin McCarthy'

17:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Matt Gaetz told ABC that his efforts to bring a vote on ousting the speaker is an “exercise to show the American people who really govern you”.

“I actually think Democrats are going to bail out Kevin McCarthy,” he added.

New York Republican calls effort to oust McCarthy ‘delusional'

16:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Rep Mike Lawler (R-NY) pushed back on the effort of Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).

“I think what I just heard was a diatribe of delusional thinking,” he told ABC’s This Week.

Gaetz calls Hakeem Jeffries McCarthy’s ‘new boss'

16:15 , Gustaf Kilander

Ukraine aid left out of US government funding package, raising questions about future support

16:00 , Kevin Freking

Congressional supporters of Ukraine say they won’t give up after a bill to keep the federal government open excluded Joe Biden’s request to provide more security assistance to the war-torn nation.

Still, many lawmakers acknowledge that winning approval for Ukraine assistance in Congress is growing more difficult as the war between Russia and Ukraine grinds on. Republican resistance to the aid has been gaining momentum in the halls of Congress.

Voting in the House this past week pointed to the potential trouble ahead. Nearly half of House Republicans voted to strip $300m from a defence spending bill to train Ukrainian soldiers and purchase weapons. The money later was approved separately, but opponents of Ukraine support celebrated their growing numbers.

Then on Saturday, House speaker Kevin McCarthy omitted additional Ukraine aid from a measure to keep the government running until 17 November. In doing so, he closed the door on a Senate package that would have funnelled $6bn to Ukraine, roughly a third of what has been requested by the White House.

Both the House and Senate overwhelmingly approved the stopgap measure, with members of both parties abandoning the increased aid for Ukraine in favour of avoiding a costly government shutdown.

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McCarthy says he’ll survive effort to oust him by Gaetz: ‘You know, this is personal with Matt'

15:46 , Gustaf.Kilander

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) appeared on Face The Nation on CBS on Sunday morning, saying that he’ll survive the motion to vacate set to be brought by Matt Gaetz (R-FL) in an effort to oust him.

“Gaetz is more interested in securing TV interviews than doing something. He wanted to push us into a shutdown … only because he wants to take this motion. Bring it on, let’s get over with it,” he told CBS.

“Yes, I’ll survive. You know, this is personal with Matt,” he added.

Tapper pushes back on Gaetz for wanting ‘clicks and likes and Fox hits'

15:45 , Gustaf Kilander

Jake Tapper of CNN pushed back on Matt Gaetz during Sunday’s State of The Union, saying that his way of speaking about Hunter Biden and the Democrats is the “language of somebody who is looking for clicks and likes and Fox hits”.

Jamaal Bowman ‘embarrassed to admit’ he pulled fire alarm during House vote

15:30 , Eric Garcia

Rep Jamaal Bowman admitted on Saturday that he pulled a fire alarm during a House vote but denied he did so to delay it.

The New York Democrat and member of the so-called Squad of progressive lawmakers faced criticism from Republicans and others after CCTV showed him pulling a fire alarm in a House office building amid a vote to pass a stopgap spending bill to keep the government open.

Mr Bowman released a statement late on Saturday evening claiming that he was trying to open a door that was locked.

“Today, as I was rushing to make a vote, I came to a door that is usually open for votes but today would not open,” he said. “I am embarrassed to admit that I activated the fire alarm, mistakenly thinking it would open the door. I regret this and sincerely apologize for any confusion this caused.”

Republicans accused him of pulling the fire alarm to try to stall a vote to pass the bill, called a continuing resolution, that would continue funding the federal government. This came around the time that Democrats had said they needed time to read the text of the continuing resolution before they voted for the bill.

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AOC: There are no moderates in the GOP

15:15 , Gustaf Kilander

Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) argued on Sunday on CNN that there are no moderates in the GOP.

“There are just different degrees of fealty to Donald Trump. But it starts with a lot of fealty and goes to extreme fealty… We saw them run around the House like a Roomba until they found a door that Democrats opened,” she said on State of The Union.

Pro-Trump Republicans furious as their own party scotches shutdown threat at 11th hour

15:00 , Eric Garcia

Conservative pro-Trump Republicans raged after the House of Representatives passed a stop-gap spending bill to keep the government open for 45 days, saying it would prevent spending cuts that they had hoped to pass.

The House voted 335 to 91 for a stopgap spending bill called a continuing resolution (CR) as it continues to pass the 12 spending bills before the end of the year.

House conservatives have long opposed passing continuing resolutions and hoped to use the appropriations process to pass right-wing policies despite the fact they had little chance of the Democratic-controlled Senate passing them or President Joe Biden signing them.

The continuing resolution did not include any riders but simply extended spending to the same levels they were last year, although it did not include spending for Ukraine.

“We lost our leverage,” Rep Ralph Norman (R-SC), a member of the House Freedom Caucus, told The Independent. “People up here that never would surrender anything, I mean anything, they just were not going to have a shutdown. So that’s the way it worked.”

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AOC roasts Republicans for filing motions to expel Bowman after fire alarm controversy

14:55 , Gustaf Kilander

Ms Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) slammed Republicans for filing motions to expel Rep Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) after he was seen pulling a fire alarm as he was rushing to a vote on Saturday.

“What I do think is important to raise is the fact that Republicans ... immediately moved to file motions to censure motions to expel before there have even been conversations ... to even see if there was a misunderstanding here,” she told CNN on Sunday morning.

“What they did not do was to commit to the same when George Santos was actually found guilty after a thorough investigation of 13 federal charges,” she added. “He's indicted on everything from wire fraud to actual lying [to] House investigators, and they have been buddying up and giggling with him on the House floor and they are protecting someone who has lied to the American people, lied to the United States House of Representatives, lied to congressional investigators, but they're ... filing a motion to expel a member who in a moment of panic was trying to escape a vestibule. Give me a break!”

“And so the idea that there is somehow any kind of equivalence to someone who is actively trying to clear up a situation that he himself admits he's embarrassed [by], he released a statement last night, he apologised and they are protecting someone who has not only committed wire fraud, not only defrauded veterans, not only lied to congressional investigators but is openly gloating about it,” she noted.

She argued that it’s “absolutely humiliating to the Republican caucus and I think that they should really check their own values”.

AOC says she would vote to oust McCarthy

14:41 , Gustaf Kilander

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said she would vote to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy on CNN’s State of the Union.

“My vote beginning this term for Speaker of the House was for Hakeem Jeffries and I do not intend on voting for a Republican Speaker of the House,” she said. “But I believe that it’s up to the Republican conference to determine their own leadership and deal with their own problems. It’s not up to Democrats to save Republicans, from themselves especially.”

Asked if some Democrats would vote to save the speaker, she said: “I certainly don’t think that we would expect to see that unless there’s a real conversation between the Republican and Democratic caucuses and Republican and Democratic leadership about what that would mean, but I don’t think we give up votes for free.”

Asked if she would vote to boot Mr McCarthy, she said: “Absolutely. I think Kevin McCarthy is a very weak speaker. He clearly has lost control of his caucus. He has brought the United States and millions of Americans to the brink waiting until the final hour to to keep the government open and even then only issuing a 45-day extension.”

“So we’re going to be right back in this place in November. And, you know, I think that our main priority has to be the American people and what’s going to keep our governance in a cohesive and strong place. But unless Kevin McCarthy asks for a vote again, I don’t think we give something away for free,” she added.

Gaetz says that if McCarty remains as speaker, he’ll be ‘working for Democrats'

14:34 , Gustaf Kilander

Gaetz told CNN on Sunday that “next week, if Kevin McCarthy is still speaker of the House, he will be serving at the pleasure of the Democrats. He will be working for the Democrats”.

Catastrophic shutdown averted as McCarthy sides with Democrats over far right in his own party

14:30 , John Bowden, Eric Garcia

The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to pass a funding resolution and keep the federal government open on Saturday after Speaker Kevin McCarthy ended his attempts to work with far-right hardliners and instead cut a deal with Democrats.

After several weeks of negotiations and pitched battles in GOP caucus meetings and the press, Mr McCarthy took the most likely option and averted a government shutdown that would have likely cost the US economy millions of dollars and have been politically damaging for his own party. Now, he faces the prospect of governing over a Republican House caucus where his authority is weaker than ever before.

Dozens of Republicans opposed the measure but were unable to clear the 1/3 margin necessary to defeat the resolution under suspended House rules. Conservatives in his caucus were fuming openly to reporters while their Democratic colleagues celebrated during the vote. The final tally on the 45-day measure was 335-91 in favor of the measure; more Democrats than Republicans ended up supporting it in perhaps the clearest view of Mr McCarthy’s tough spot.

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Pelosi urges Dems to follow Jeffries’ lead on Gaetz’s effort to oust McCarthy

14:29 , Gustaf Kilander

Ms Pelosi told CNN that Democrats should “follow the leader” and listen to Rep Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) on whether to help Mr McCarthy retain the speaker’s gavel.

Pelosi says Gaetz ‘has no sway in the House’ after he calls for McCarthy ouster

14:25 , Gustaf Kilander

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded to Matt Gaetz saying he would attempt to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy during an appearance on CNN on Sunday.

“You’re wasting your time on that guy because he has no sway in the House of Representatives,” she told CNN.

Gaetz seeks to oust Speaker McCarthy after shutdown deal with Dems

14:11 , Gustaf Kilander and John Bowden

Matt Gaetz will offer a motion to vacate the chair in an attempt to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the far-right Florida Republican told CNN.

This comes after MAGA Republicans were outraged by Mr McCarthy striking a deal with Democrats on Saturday to avert a government shutdown.

“I do intend to file a motion to vacate against Speaker McCarthy this week. I think we need to rip off the band aid. I think we need to move on with new leadership that can be trustworthy,” Mr Gaetz told CNN.

“Look, the one thing everybody has in common is that nobody trusts Kevin McCarthy,” he added. “He lied to Biden, he lied to House conservatives. He had appropriators marking to a different number altogether. And the reason we were backed up against the shutdown politics is not a bug of the system. It’s a feature.”

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‘Unfortunately, for them, they were outgunned,’ Texas Democrat says

14:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Government shutdown narrowly averted as Senate backs McCarthy deal with Democrats

13:30 , Eric Garcia, John Bowden, Andrew Feinberg

The Senate voted overwhelmingly to approve a stopgap bill to fund government operations for the next 45 days with three and a half hours to go until a midnight deadline at the end of fiscal year, ending a days-long standoff which had threatened to paralyse federal agencies and leave millions of workers without paychecks.

The upper chamber approved the measure, known as a continuing resolution, by a vote of 88 senators In favour and just nine against at 9.04 pm, only hours after the House of Representatives approved an identical bill put forth by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Speaking on the Senate floor just before senators began voting, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the compromise bill would “keep the government open” and represented “good news for the country”.

“Bipartisanship, which has been the trademark of the Senate, has prevailed, and the American people can breathe a sigh of relief,” he said. “The bipartisanship here in the Senate set the tone for today’s result, and I hope it sets the tone for the future”.

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VIDEO: House votes to fund government for further 45 days

13:00 , The Independent

Alarm triggered as Democrats sought delay on House vote

12:00 , Andrew Feinberg

After an emergency alarm was set off in the Cannon House Office Building, where Mr Bowman’s office sits on the building’s third floor, reports emerged that a man matching Mr Bowman’s description had been seen pulling the alarm near a second-floor exit.

The alarm was triggered as Democrats on the House floor were seeking to slow down consideration of a spending bill which House Speaker Kevin McCarthy had called up for debate less than an hour earlier.

Democrats had expressed concerns that the bill, which extends government funding for 45 days, might contain objectionable provisions and had demanded more time to review it before voting.

Democrat Jamaal Bowman accused of pulling fire alarm to delay House vote

11:00 , Andrew Feinberg

A New York congressman is under fire after CCTV footage appeared to show him activating a House office building’s internal alarm system in an effort to delay voting on a spending bill on Saturday.

The congressman, Representative Jamaal Bowman, is in his second term representing the Empire State’s 14th district, which includes northern Bronx, southern Westchester County, and Yonkers.

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Republicans now have 45 days to pass longer-term budget measures

10:00 , John Bowden

Republicans now have 45 days to pass longer-term budget measures to operate the government for the 2024 year. Those budgets have already hit their own set of roadblocks in the House, and are destined to run up against a Democratic-controlled Senate and White House that will likely demand changes.

All in all, the chamber could very well face another shutdown deadline this year unless Congress, specifically House Republicans, are able to pass legislation that can actually win support from the rest of the legislative branch.

‘If somebody wants to make a motion against me, bring it'

09:00 , John Bowden

Matt Gaetz, the leader of the far-right GOP contingent opposed to Mr McCarthy’s efforts to keep the government open with short-term measures, spoke to reporters on the steps of the Capitol just before the vote was to take place. He and other conservatives such as Tim Burchett, also present, seemed to acknowledge that GOP leadership would have the votes to pass it and remained pessimistic about the future of Mr McCarthy’s speakership.

When asked by The Independent if there was any path forward to working with the speaker going forward, Mr Gaetz demurred from the overt threats to unseat Mr McCarthy, but left the possibility wide open.

“I’ve said that whether or not Kevin McCarthy faces a motion to vacate is entirely within his control, because all he had to do was comply with the agreement that he made with us in January,” Mr Gaetz responded. He then issued a warning: “Putting this bill on the floor and passing it with Democrats would be such an obvious blatant and clear violation of that. We would have to deal with it.”

Mr McCarthy later responded in his own comment to reporters outside the chamber.

“If somebody wants to make a motion against me, bring it,” he said. “There has to be an adult in the room.”

‘I’m pleased Kevin McCarthy finally backed down'

08:00 , John Bowden

Jim McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts, offered a simple commentary as he left the floor following the House vote: “We won.”

“I’m pleased Kevin McCarthy finally backed down and put a bill on the floor that would win overwhelming Democratic support,” added Brendan Boyle, another Democrat, from Pennsylvania.

Ukraine aid left out of US government funding package, raising questions about future support

07:54 , Anuj Pant

Congressional supporters of Ukraine say they won’t give up after a bill to keep the federal government open excluded Joe Biden’s request to provide more security assistance to the war-torn nation.

Still, many lawmakers acknowledge that winning approval for Ukraine assistance in Congress is growing more difficult as the war between Russia and Ukraine grinds on. Republican resistance to the aid has been gaining momentum in the halls of Congress.

Voting in the House this past week pointed to the potential trouble ahead. Nearly half of House Republicans voted to strip $300m from a defence spending bill to train Ukrainian soldiers and purchase weapons. The money later was approved separately, but opponents of Ukraine support celebrated their growing numbers.

Then on Saturday, House speaker Kevin McCarthy omitted additional Ukraine aid from a measure to keep the government running until 17 November. In doing so, he closed the door on a Senate package that would have funnelled $6bn to Ukraine, roughly a third of what has been requested by the White House.

Both the House and Senate overwhelmingly approved the stopgap measure, with members of both parties abandoning the increased aid for Ukraine in favour of avoiding a costly government shutdown.

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Ukraine aid left out of US government funding package that averted shutdown

AOC declares victory: ‘People will get paychecks and MTG threw a tantrum on the way out. Win-win'

07:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez declared victory on Saturday, writing: “Here’s what went down: we just won a clean 45 day gov extension, stripped GOP’s earlier 30% cuts to Social Security admin etc, staved off last minute anti-immigrant hijinks, and averted shutdown (for now). People will get paychecks and MTG threw a tantrum on the way out. Win-win”

McCarthy avoids question if he needs Dem votes to stay as speaker

06:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Joe Biden signs temporary funding bill

05:39 , Anuj Pant

The looming threat of a damaging shutdown was averted late on Saturday night as Congress rushed to push through a bipartisan deal and Joe Biden signed it into law soon after.

The bill is a temporary, 45-day funding measure pushed through by Democrats and Republicans alike. The package increases federal disaster assistance by $16bn, but also drops aid to Ukraine, a priority for the White House that has been opposed by several Republicans.

The bill will fund the government up to 17 November.

“This is good news for the American people,” Mr Biden said, adding that the US “cannot under any circumstances allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted”.

Mr Biden said Kevin McCarthy, who might lose his job as House speaker after siding with Democrats instead of far-right Republicans, “will keep his commitment to the people of Ukraine and secure passage of the support needed to help Ukraine at this critical moment”.

“We’re going to do our job,” Mr McCarthy said before the House vote.

“We’re going to be adults in the room. And we’re going to keep government open.”

Tennessee Republican says there’s interest in forcing McCarthy out

05:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Catastrophic shutdown averted as McCarthy sides with Democrats over far right in his own party

04:00 , John Bowden

The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to pass a funding resolution and keep the federal government open on Saturday after Speaker Kevin McCarthy ended his attempts to work with far-right hardliners and instead cut a deal with Democrats.

After several weeks of negotiations and pitched battles at GOP caucus meetings and the press, Mr McCarthy took the most likely option and averted a government shutdown that would have likely cost the US economy millions of dollars and have been politically damaging for his own party. Now, he faces the prospect of governing over a Republican House caucus where his authority is weaker than ever before.

Dozens of Republicans opposed the measure but were unable to clear the 1/3 margin necessary to defeat the resolution under suspended House rules. Conservatives in his caucus were fuming openly to reporters while their Democratic colleagues celebrated during the vote. The final tally was 335-91 in favor of the measure.

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‘All of us have a responsibility to lead and to govern'

03:15 , AP

At an early closed-door meeting at the Capitol, several House Republicans, particularly those facing tough reelections next year, urged their colleagues to find a way to prevent a shutdown.

“All of us have a responsibility to lead and to govern,” said Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York.

But the lone Democrat to vote against the package, Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois, the co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, called it a victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin and “Putin-sympathizers everywhere.” He said, “Protecting Ukraine is in our national interest.”

Earlier McCarthy plan collapsed after opposition from faction of 21 hard-right holdouts

02:30 , AP

An earlier McCarthy plan to keep the government open collapsed Friday due to opposition from a faction of 21 hard-right holdouts despite steep spending cuts of nearly 30% to many agencies and severe border security provisions.

The White House has brushed aside McCarthy’s overtures to meet with Biden after the speaker walked away from the debt deal they brokered earlier this year that set budget levels.

Catering to his hard-right flank, McCarthy had returned to the spending limits the conservatives demanded back in January as part of the deal-making to help him become the House speaker.

After Friday’s vote, McCarthy’s chief Republican critic, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, said the speaker’s bill “went down in flames as I’ve told you all week it would.”

Gaetz has warned he will file a motion calling a vote to oust the speaker.

Some of the Republican holdouts, including Gaetz, are allies of former President Donald Trump, who is Biden’s chief rival in the 2024 race. Trump has been encouraging the Republicans to fight hard for their priorities and even to “shut it down.”

Biden blames Republicans for crisis

02:27 , Phil Thomas

President Joe Biden welcomed the last-minute deal but said the United States should never have come so close to a government shutdown. In a statement he said Republicans were to blame – and he promised to keep supporting Ukraine in its battle against the Russian invasion. President Biden wrote:

Tonight, bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate voted to keep the government open, preventing an unnecessary crisis that would have inflicted needless pain on millions of hardworking Americans. This bill ensures that active-duty troops will continue to get paid, travelers will be spared airport delays, millions of women and children will continue to have access to vital nutrition assistance, and so much more. This is good news for the American people.

But I want to be clear: we should never have been in this position in the first place. Just a few months ago, Speaker McCarthy and I reached a budget agreement to avoid precisely this type of manufactured crisis. For weeks, extreme House Republicans tried to walk away from that deal by demanding drastic cuts that would have been devastating for millions of Americans. They failed.

While the Speaker and the overwhelming majority of Congress have been steadfast in their support for Ukraine, there is no new funding in this agreement to continue that support. We cannot under any circumstances allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted. I fully expect the Speaker will keep his commitment to the people of Ukraine and secure passage of the support needed to help Ukraine at this critical moment.

Senate gives its approval to deal

02:09 , Phil Thomas

Late on Saturday, with just hours left before a potential government shutdown, the US Senate gave its approval to the deal passed earlier in the House. The question of continued aid to Ukraine – removed from the House bill at the assistance of pro-Trump Republicans – continued to be a controversial issue, with Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer stressing that assistance to the beleagurered country would continue by other means.

Eric Garcia, John Bowden and Andrew Feinberg have the full story:

Government shutdown narrowly averted as Senate backs McCarthy deal with Democrats

McCarthy forced to rely on Democrats

01:45 , AP

For the House package to be approved, McCarthy, R-Calif., was forced to rely on Democrats because the speaker’s hard-right flank has said it will oppose any short-term funding measure, denying him the votes needed from his slim majority. It’s a move that risks his job amid calls for his ouster.

After leaving his right-flank behind, McCarthy is almost certain to be facing a motion to try to remove from office, though it is not at all certain there would be enough votes to topple the speaker. Most Republicans voted for the package Saturday while 90 opposed.

“If somebody wants to remove me because I want to be the adult in the room, go ahead and try,” McCarthy said of the threat to oust him. “But I think this country is too important.”

The White House was tracking the developments on Capitol Hill and aides were briefing the president, who was spending the weekend in Washington.

The quick pivot comes after the collapse Friday of McCarthy’s earlier plan to pass a Republican-only bill with steep spending cuts up to 30% to most government agencies that the White House and Democrats rejected as too extreme.

“Our options are slipping away every minute,” said one senior Republican, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida.

House measure would fund government at current 2023 levels for 45 days

01:00 , AP

With no deal in place before Sunday, federal workers will face furloughs, more than 2 million active-duty and reserve military troops will work without pay and programs and services that Americans rely on from coast to coast will begin to face shutdown disruptions.

The House measure would fund government at current 2023 levels for 45 days, through Nov. 17, moving closer to the bipartisan approach in the Senate. But the Senate package would have added $6 billion for Ukraine to fight the war against Russia and $6 billion for U.S. disaster relief.

Both chambers came to a standstill as lawmakers assessed their options, some decrying the loss of Ukraine aid.

“The American people deserve better,” said House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, warning in a lengthy floor speech that “extreme” Republicans were risking shutdown.

On the brink of a federal shutdown, the House passes a 45-day funding plan and sends it to Senate

Sunday 1 October 2023 00:15 , AP

On the brink of a federal government shutdown, the House on Saturday swiftly approved a 45-day funding bill to keep federal agencies open as Speaker Kevin McCarthy dropped demands for steep spending cuts and relied on Democratic votes for passage to send the package to the Senate.

The new approach would leave behind aid to Ukraine, a White House priority opposed by a growing number of GOP lawmakers, but the plan would increase federal disaster assistance by $16 billion, meeting President Joe Biden’s full request. The package was approved 335-91, with most Republicans and almost all Democrats supporting.

With hours to go before the midnight deadline to fund the government, the Senate was also in for a rare weekend session and prepared to act next.

“We’re going to do our job,” McCarthy said before the House vote. “We’re going to be adults in the room. And we’re going to keep government open.”

Dem House leadership says McCarthy asked them ‘to put out the fire that he and his party started’

Saturday 30 September 2023 23:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Tennessee Republican says McCarthy caved

Saturday 30 September 2023 22:45 , Gustaf Kilander

Alarm triggered as Democrats sought delay on House vote

Saturday 30 September 2023 22:00 , Andrew Feinberg

After an emergency alarm was set off in the Cannon House Office Building, where Mr Bowman’s office sits on the building’s third floor, reports emerged that a man matching Mr Bowman’s description had been seen pulling the alarm near a second-floor exit.

The alarm was triggered as Democrats on the House floor were seeking to slow down consideration of a spending bill which House Speaker Kevin McCarthy had called up for debate less than an hour earlier.

Democrats had expressed concerns that the bill, which extends government funding for 45 days, might contain objectionable provisions and had demanded more time to review it before voting.

Democrat Jamaal Bowman accused of pulling fire alarm to delay House vote

Saturday 30 September 2023 21:30 , Andrew Feinberg

A New York congressman is under fire after CCTV footage appeared to show him activating a House office building’s internal alarm system in an effort to delay voting on a spending bill on Saturday.

The congressman, Representative Jamaal Bowman, is in his second term representing the Empire State’s 14th district, which includes northern Bronx, southern Westchester County, and Yonkers.

Read more

Republicans now have 45 days to pass longer-term budget measures

Saturday 30 September 2023 21:00 , John Bowden

Republicans now have 45 days to pass longer-term budget measures to operate the government for the 2024 year. Those budgets have already hit their own set of roadblocks in the House, and are destined to run up against a Democratic-controlled Senate and White House that will likely demand changes.

All in all, the chamber could very well face another shutdown deadline this year unless Congress, specifically House Republicans, are able to pass legislation that can actually win support from the rest of the legislative branch.

‘If somebody wants to make a motion against me, bring it'

Saturday 30 September 2023 20:50 , John Bowden

Matt Gaetz, the leader of the far-right GOP contingent opposed to Mr McCarthy’s efforts to keep the government open with short-term measures, spoke to reporters on the steps of the Capitol just before the vote was to take place. He and other conservatives such as Tim Burchett, also present, seemed to acknowledge that GOP leadership would have the votes to pass it and remained pessimistic about the future of Mr McCarthy’s speakership.

When asked by The Independent if there was any path forward to working with the speaker going forward, Mr Gaetz demurred from the overt threats to unseat Mr McCarthy, but left the possibility wide open.

“I’ve said that whether or not Kevin McCarthy faces a motion to vacate is entirely within his control, because all he had to do was comply with the agreement that he made with us in January,” Mr Gaetz responded. He then issued a warning: “Putting this bill on the floor and passing it with Democrats would be such an obvious blatant and clear violation of that. We would have to deal with it.”

Mr McCarthy later responded in his own comment to reporters outside the chamber.

“If somebody wants to make a motion against me, bring it,” he said. “There has to be an adult in the room.”

CR likely to pass senate as no 3 Senate Republican posts in support of yes vote

Saturday 30 September 2023 20:44 , Gustaf Kilander

‘I’m pleased Kevin McCarthy finally backed down'

Saturday 30 September 2023 20:40 , John Bowden

The measure must be passed by the Senate before it is signed into law by the president and officially halts the prospect of a shutdown. But the Senate is likely to do so without incident, with funding for Ukraine’s defence being the only sticking point (and one that will likely be addressed in the coming days).

Jim McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts, offered a simple commentary as he left the floor following the vote: “We won.”

“I’m pleased Kevin McCarthy finally backed down and put a bill on the floor that would win overwhelming Democratic support,” added Brendan Boyle, another Democrat, from Pennsylvania.

AOC declares victory: ‘People will get paychecks and MTG threw a tantrum on the way out. Win-win'

Saturday 30 September 2023 20:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez declared victory on Saturday, writing: “Here’s what went down: we just won a clean 45 day gov extension, stripped GOP’s earlier 30% cuts to Social Security admin etc, staved off last minute anti-immigrant hijinks, and averted shutdown (for now). People will get paychecks and MTG threw a tantrum on the way out. Win-win”

VIDEO: House votes to fund government for further 45 days

Saturday 30 September 2023 20:01 , The Independent

Catastrophic shutdown averted as McCarthy sides with Democrats over far right in his own party

Saturday 30 September 2023 20:00 , John Bowden

The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to pass a funding resolution and keep the federal government open on Saturday after Speaker Kevin McCarthy ended his attempts to work with far-right hardliners and instead cut a deal with Democrats.

After several weeks of negotiations and pitched battles at GOP caucus meetings and the press, Mr McCarthy took the most likely option and averted a government shutdown that would have likely cost the US economy millions of dollars and have been politically damaging for his own party. Now, he faces the prospect of governing over a Republican House caucus where his authority is weaker than ever before.

Dozens of Republicans opposed the measure but were unable to clear the 1/3 margin necessary to defeat the resolution under suspended House rules. Conservatives in his caucus were fuming openly to reporters while their Democratic colleagues celebrated during the vote. The final tally was 335-91 in favor of the measure.

Read more

House passes CR with more than 2/3 voting in favour, likely averting shutdown

Saturday 30 September 2023 19:47 , Gustaf Kilander

The House has passed the continuing resolution to fund the government for another 45 days, likely averting a government shutdown pending Senate approval.

Pentagon makes last-minute push for Ukraine funding

Saturday 30 September 2023 19:37 , Gustaf Kilander

The Pentagon has been making a last-minute push to convince Capitol Hill leaders not to remove Ukraine funding from the CR.

“Republicans are forcing us to choose between supporting Ukraine and averting a shutdown, and the administration is very concerned,” a congressional staffer told The Washington Post.

Saturday 30 September 2023 19:35 , Gustaf Kilander

As the House votes on the CR, Leader Jeffries is urging his caucus to support the bill.

McConnell overruled on CR strategy by fellow Senate Republicans

Saturday 30 September 2023 19:34 , Gustaf Kilander

‘Democrats will continue to put people over politics,’ Jeffries says

Saturday 30 September 2023 19:30 , Gustaf Kilander

New York Democrat reportedly seen pulling fire alarm in House office building

Saturday 30 September 2023 19:25 , Gustaf Kilander

Democrats frustrated as CR revealed to have time stamp from last night

Saturday 30 September 2023 19:20 , Gustaf Kilander

Many Democrats expected to support CR

Saturday 30 September 2023 19:14 , Gustaf Kilander

Many House Democrats are expected to vote yes on the CR.

“I think most Dems are going to vote for” the bill one member told Axios. “A few [are] upset.”

A number of senior members are telling others to support the bill, including Jim McGovern, Mike Thompson, and Zoe Lofgren.

Top McCarthy ally says GOP open to address ‘legitimate concerns’ from Democrats

Saturday 30 September 2023 19:05 , Gustaf Kilander

In resurfaced clip, McCarthy speaks about having sandwich named after him

Saturday 30 September 2023 19:00 , Gustaf Kilander

McConnell says Republicans will reject advancement of bipartisan CR

Saturday 30 September 2023 18:59 , Gustaf Kilander

Jeffries brings up abortion as he slams Republicans for threatening shutdown

Saturday 30 September 2023 18:43 , Gustaf Kilander

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said during his magic minute speech on Saturday that “we want the American people to understand that on this side of the aisle, we don’t believe that our colleagues on the Republican side should threaten a government shutdown as part of their effort to criminalize abortion care”.

Jeffries slams GOP for dropping legislation at ‘11th hour'

Saturday 30 September 2023 18:38 , Gustaf Kilander

‘This 45-day CR is not does not liberate us from our nation’s financial challenges,’ Gaetz says

Saturday 30 September 2023 18:36 , John Bowden and Gustaf Kilander

Matt Gaetz told reporters on Saturday that “our plan is to continue to build support for our single subject spending bills”.

“And this 45-day CR is not does not liberate us from our nation's financial challenges – [we] remain $33tn in debt. We're facing $2.2tn annual deficits. You know, right now, literally our government is trying to figure out how much more we want to deficit spend so that we could send money to Ukraine. And that is crazy to me,” he added.

“You know, we did see at our conference meeting last night a calendar for the first time where the leadership laid out how they wanted to take up single-subject spending bills, but they're only doing that with a political gun to their head. They're only doing that because we're forcing them and, you know, if we can use our leverage to get the House to take these things up ... I think that's probably good,” the Floridian said.

On the brink of a government shutdown, the Senate tries to approve funding but it’s almost too late

Saturday 30 September 2023 18:28 , Lisa Mascaro, Kevin Freking, Stephen Groves

The U.S. is on the brink of a federal government shutdown after hard-right Republicans in Congress rejected a longshot effort to keep offices open as they fight for steep spending cuts and strict border security measures that Democrats and the White House say are too extreme.

Come midnight Saturday with no deal in place, federal workers will face furloughs, more than 2 million active duty and reserve military troops will work without pay and programs and services that Americans rely on from coast to coast will begin to face shutdown disruptions.

The Senate will be in for a rare Saturday session to advance its own bipartisan package that is supported by Democrats and Republicans and would fund the government for the short-term, through Nov. 17.

But even if the Senate can rush to wrap up its work this weekend to pass the bill, which also includes money for Ukraine aid and U.S. disaster assistance, it won’t prevent an almost certain shutdown amid the chaos in the House. On Friday, a massive hard-right revolt left Speaker Kevin McCarthy‘s latest plan to collapse.

“Congress has only one option to avoid a shutdown — bipartisanship,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Read more

What Dianne Feinstein’s death means for control of the Senate and the looming government shutdown

Saturday 30 September 2023 18:27 , Michelle L. Price

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s death creates a vacancy in the Senate at a time when her Democrats hold the slightest majority in the chamber.

Feinstein, a centrist Democrat who had represented California since 1992, had medical struggles in recent months that already had prompted questions about whether she’d resign and who might replace her.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to pick a replacement soon. An election to pick the state’s next senator serving a full six-year term is scheduled for next year.

Here’s a look at what Feinstein’s death means for the Senate at a critical time on Capitol Hill:

HOW DOES IT IMPACT CONTROL OF THE SENATE?

‘We do have a deadline’

Saturday 30 September 2023 18:26 , Eric Garcia

VIDEO: Democrats chants ‘keep your word’ at Republicans

Saturday 30 September 2023 18:24 , Gustaf Kilander

‘Strap in, because this may take a while'

Saturday 30 September 2023 18:18 , Gustaf Kilander

Gaetz says McCarthy speakership is on ‘tenuous ground'

Saturday 30 September 2023 18:16 , John Bowden and Gustaf Kilander

Florida Republican Matt Gaetz told reporters on Saturday that it was “disappointing” that Speaker Kevin McCarthy is ready to work with Democrats to fund the government.

“We really developed some momentum passing a bill to fund our troops, our Defense Appropriations Act. We passed our veterans funding bill, we passed our homeland security funding bill,” he said. “We passed our state and foreign obstacle funding bill and we did this with single-subject spending bills.”

“The fact that we're reverting to the normal muscle memory of Washington to pass a continuing resolution is certainly disappointing,” he added.

He said Mr McCarthy’s speakership is “on the line. I would say it's on some tenuous ground”.

Trouble brewing as Democrat push out memo on ‘not so clean’ CR

Saturday 30 September 2023 18:02 , Gustaf Kilander

Senate Republicans meet to decide how to vote on CR

Saturday 30 September 2023 17:52 , Gustaf Kilander

Dems ask for 90 mins to read bill

Saturday 30 September 2023 17:51 , Gustaf Kilander

Some House Dems see no way to vote down CR if there’s nothing ‘funny in there'

Saturday 30 September 2023 17:50 , Gustaf Kilander

House Democrats are frustrated at the speed at which Speaker McCarthy is trying to push through his bill to fund the government for another 45 days.

If there’s nothing “funny in there”, a number of House Democrats told Punchbowl that they see no way for them to vote it down.

Ex-Majority Leader says he’ll ‘vote to keep government open'

Saturday 30 September 2023 17:28 , Gustaf Kilander

Former House Democratic Majority Leader Rep Steny Hoyer of Maryland exited the caucus meeting on Saturday saying that if the bill “is as advertised” he will vote for it but added that he wants more time to read the legislation, according to Punchbowl News.

The consensus among Democrats appears to be to stall for time to read the bill.

But if the motion to adjourn fails, Mr Hoyer said, “I’m gonna vote to keep the government open,” according to Axios.

‘Kevin McCarthy isn’t the most trustworthy person in this building'

Saturday 30 September 2023 17:19 , Gustaf Kilander

The chair of the House Democrats, Rep Pete Aguilar of California, said on Sunday that the Democrats need time to read the bill, saying “Kevin McCarthy isn’t the most trustworthy person in this building, so I think behoves all of us to make sure what they say is in the bill is in the bill,” according to Punchbowl News.

VIDEO: Kevin McCarthy urges House Republicans to get onside as shutdown looms

Saturday 30 September 2023 17:05 , The Independent

Democrats offer motion to adjourn but tells members not to vote to buy time

Saturday 30 September 2023 17:04 , Gustaf Kilander

The House Democrats are trying to buy time as they look over the bill put forward to fund the government.

They have offered a motion to adjourn but have told their members at an emergency caucus meeting not to vote as they attempt to buy time to review the 71-page legislation, according to Punchbowl News.