In view of an impending budget freeze in the USA, congressmen in Washington are struggling to find a bridge budget. A vote on temporary funding scheduled for Wednesday was canceled at midday; It remained unclear when the vote would take place. Democrats and Republicans have not yet been able to agree on a regular budget. A further bridging budget is therefore necessary – but that is also controversial.
The bridging budget is intended to prevent a possible government shutdown shortly before the presidential election on November 5th. So far, funding for the US federal authorities has only been secured until the end of September. After this point, there is a risk of a budget freeze, which would mean forced unpaid leave for hundreds of thousands of state employees and thus restrictions on state services and on numerous public institutions such as national parks and state museums.
The Republican leader of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, had scheduled a vote on a six-month extension for Wednesday. This would push the deadline for a possible shutdown to the end of March, when the future president will already be in office.
However, Johnson wants to couple this vote with a vote by MPs on a controversial bill that would require proof of citizenship when registering to vote in national elections.
In view of the resistance, especially within his own ranks, to this move, Johnson canceled the vote at midday. The chairman initially did not give a new date, but explained that work on an agreement would continue over the weekend.
The Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has a great influence on the Republicans in the House of Representatives and continues to falsely claim that he was cheated in the 2020 election, was particularly strong in favor of Johnson’s initiative.
On Tuesday, Trump reiterated in an online post that the Republicans should “under no circumstances” agree to the budget extension if there were “no absolute assurances” with regard to the election demands.
But Republican MPs do not follow this line unanimously. Several Republican lawmakers worry about the negative impact of a government shutdown on their re-election chances; Defense politicians fear impacts on military readiness.
President Joe Biden’s government is against Johnson’s move because it could also remove eligible voters from the voter rolls or otherwise deter them. She points out that voting by non-citizens is already illegal and that there is no evidence that undocumented immigrants will vote in elections.
In the Senate, where the Democrats have the majority, the Democratic Party of Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris is planning to give the Republicans an ultimatum: Either there is a “clean” bridge budget by the end of the year – or the Republicans are responsible for the shutdown .
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the chances of a shutdown would increase significantly if Johnson continued on his “highly partisan path” in the House of Representatives. “And Americans will know that the responsibility for a shutdown lies with Republicans in the House of Representatives.”
