House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy insisted Wednesday that his opposition to the Democrats’ catch-all spending bill has nothing to do with shoring up support among conservatives for his election to be the next speaker of the House.
Mr. McCarthy, whose bid for speaker is currently several votes short of the 218 he needs, has been rallying Republicans against the year-end spending deal brokered by Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.
“It wouldn’t have anything to do with being speaker. It has to do with the American public and what the future of America is going to be when it comes to fiscal resources,” Mr. McCarthy told reporters at the Capitol.
He has been urging Senate Republicans to block the Democrats’ spending bill that would fund the government for the remainder of the fiscal year ending Sept. 30 He wants to push the spending decisions into the next Congress that convenes Jan. 3 with a GOP-run House.
“You just had an election where we changed the course, where the house is now going to be controlled by Republicans,” he said. “You have Democrats who controlled all and didn’t do their job and are now going to try to jam us right before Christmas with a bill that funds the entire government that we don’t have any input on?”
Mr. McCarthy’s position is shared by most House Republicans but also by five members who oppose his bid for speaker.
Mr. McCarthy and House Republicans are pressing the Senate to pass a short-term spending bill that will expire in January when the GOP-run House would have a say in spending levels.
Congress is scheduled to pass a one-week stopgap spending measure intended to avoid a partial government shutdown at midnight Friday. That is supposed to buy them enough time to finish the full-year spending bill.
Senate Republican leaders announced Tuesday that they are close to an agreement with Democrats to fund the government with a catch-all bill known on Capitol Hill as an omnibus. It includes $858 billion in defense spending, $787 billion in domestic spending and aid for Ukraine.
Mr. McConnell, Kentucky Republican, said it was the best deal they could get.
Others say a spending fight and shutdown showdown in January is the last thing the new House Republican majority needs.
Sen. Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican on the Appropriations Committee who is retiring at the end of the year, said he did not think “any new Congress should be forced” to pick up the last Congress’ work.
“And even more so when changing control,” he. said. “I just think it’s asking for big problems.”
• Ramsey Touchberry contributed to this article.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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