Closing summary
With the US government 12 days away from shutting down, House Republicans were plagued by infighting between Kevin McCarthy and a handful of far-right lawmakers who refuse to approve a measure to keep the government open through October. In a sign of how bad the split has become, a procedural vote on the short-term funding bill expected to happen today was cancelled, and an attempt to advance a Pentagon spending bill was voted down, thanks to rightwing Republicans. But even if the House does get its ducks in a row, Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said the short-term measure they would have voted on will not pass the chamber. It’s clear there’s lot of negotiating remaining if a government shutdown is to be avoided.
Here’s what else happened today:
House Republicans will hold the first hearing of their impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden next week.
Mitch McConnell, the top Senate Republican, warned that the GOP may be blamed if the government shuts down.
A Trump supporter at the center of conspiracy theories over January 6 has now been charged for his actions during the insurrection.
Biden addressed the United Nations general assembly in New York City, and we have a live blog covering the day’s events.
Jimmy Carter’s one-term presidency may have been on Biden’s mind as he pursued a deal with Iran that led to the release of seven Americans yesterday.
As Politico reports, House Republicans aligned with Kevin McCarthy, which is most of them, had hoped that teeing up a vote on the defense spending measure would break the logjam with rightwing legislators who are holding up business in the chamber.
But it didn’t work. The five GOP “no” votes, together with the Democrats’ refusal to vote for legislation they oppose, doomed the effort to begin debate on the bill:
This adds to the tough week for McCarthy
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) September 19, 2023
His rank and file wanted to put this DOD bill on the floor and dare other members to oppose it. Move didn’t work — it failed with 5 GOP no votes https://t.co/vkousGFXjU
Punchbowl News reports that Republican lawmaker Mike Garcia accused the five Republicans who voted the rule down of, essentially, aiding the enemy:
Mike Garcia singled out Biggs, Buck, Rosendale, Norman and Bishop.
— Max Cohen (@maxpcohen) September 19, 2023
“I think they're good Americans, but they're confused and they just handed a win to the Chinese Communist Party as a result of this vote.”
Dysfunction reigns in House as GOP fails to advance defense spending bill
In a sign of how bad things have become in the House, Republican leaders just held a crucial vote to advance a Pentagon spending bill, but failed to win enough support for its passage after Democrats and a handful of GOP lawmakers opposed it.
Representatives were voting on a rule to begin debate on the bill, but that failed to pass after Democrats – who appear perfectly happy watching the GOP’s slim majority slide into dysfunction – voted against it, as did a handful of Republicans.
As it became clear that GOP leadership would not be getting its way today, sarcastic Democrats took to shouting “order!” in the chamber, as you can see from the clip below:
“Order!” “Regular order!”
— The Recount (@therecount) September 19, 2023
House Democrats appear to be taunting the Republican majority, who still do not have the votes to move forward with a procedural vote that would allow them to pass a spending bill — several minutes after the vote time technically expired. pic.twitter.com/cpfPm7gAvl
There’s a new twist in the story of Ray Epps, a Donald Trump supporter who was present on January 6 and later found himself the subject of rightwing conspiracy theories that baselessly alleged he was an agent provocateur. As the Guardian’s Martin Pengelly reports, he himself is now in trouble with federal prosecutors:
Ray Epps – a Donald Trump supporter, Oath Keepers militia member and January 6 participant who became the subject of rightwing conspiracy theories about the attack on Congress – has been charged with one criminal count related to the riot.
In a court filing in US district court in Washington DC, dated Monday, federal prosecutors charged Epps with disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds.
The charge can carry a sentence of up to 10 years.
A former US marine from Arizona, Epps went to Washington in January 2021 to join protesters seeking to block Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in the presidential election the previous November.
On the night of 5 January, he was filmed in downtown Washington, telling other Trump supporters: “Tomorrow, we need to go into the Capitol … peacefully.”
The next day, as Trump told supporters to “fight like hell” in his cause, the Capitol came under attack. The attack failed and Trump’s defeat was confirmed. Nine deaths have now been linked to the riot.
The notion that Epps was a federal agent, acting as a provocateur, took root early. On the night of 5 January, some around him chanted: “Fed! Fed! Fed! Fed!” In footage of the attack, after a Capitol police officer went down, Epps was seen pulling a rioter aside.
Rightwing media, prominently including the then Fox News prime-time host Tucker Carlson, eagerly took up the theory that Epps was linked to federal agents.
The US Capitol Police has canceled the security alert it issued following the discovery of a suspicious vehicle and package near its headquarters:
The vehicle has been cleared. Thank you again for your patience as we worked through this investigation.
— The U.S. Capitol Police (@CapitolPolice) September 19, 2023
Top Senate Republican says governments shutdowns 'a loser politically' for party
The Senate’s top Republican Mitch McConnell warned against shutting down the government and said voters would likely blame the GOP if the federal government runs out of money at the start of October, according to reporters at the Capitol:
McConnell: “I’m not a fan of government shutdowns…they’ve never forced a policy change, they’re always a loser politically for Republicans”
— Burgess Everett (asapburgessev on 🧵) (@burgessev) September 19, 2023
White House calls impeachment 'political stunt', says GOP should focus on avoiding shutdown
With the Republican-controlled House oversight committee set to hold its first impeachment hearing of Joe Biden next week, the White House has hit back with a statement condemning the panel as a “political stunt” and calling on Republicans to instead focus on avoiding a government shutdown.
“Extreme House Republicans are already telegraphing their plans to try to distract from their own chaotic inability to govern and the impacts of it on the country,” the White House’s spokesperson for oversight and investigations Ian Sams said. “Staging a political stunt hearing in the waning days before they may shut down the government reveals their true priorities: to them, baseless personal attacks on President Biden are more important than preventing a government shutdown and the pain it would inflict on American families.”
Sams continued:
The President has been very clear: he is going to remain focused on the issues that matter to the American people, including preventing the devastating and harmful cuts proposed by House Republicans that are hurtling us toward a government shutdown. House Republicans should drop these silly political Washington games and actually do their job to prevent a government shutdown.
In a press conference, chair of the House Democratic caucus Pete Aguilar signaled that the party’s lawmakers were in a wait-and-see mode as the GOP squabbles among themselves ahead of an end-of-the-month government shutdown deadline:
House Democrat Chair Pete Aguilar responds to claims that Speaker McCarthy is working with Democrats to pass a budget to fund the federal government:
— The Recount (@therecount) September 19, 2023
“It's unfortunate that carrying forward in a bipartisan manner is what House Republicans view as a reason to vacate the chair.” pic.twitter.com/0r8yGObyGe
Republicans push for amendments that would stop funding being used for Ukraine aid
Far-right Republicans have been pushing for amendments on the continuing resolution that would prevent funds from being used for Ukraine aid and other initiatives.
Here are some of the amendments being requested from Marjorie Taylor Greene, from Punchbowl News’ Mica Soellner:
Here’s a list of amendments MTG is pushing for on the CR pic.twitter.com/aazzmlpPz1
— Mica Soellner (@MicaSoellnerDC) September 19, 2023
Updated
There doesn’t seem to be much progress on the House GOP resolution, with Republicans still working to clear a path to get the resolution passed.
Florida representative Matt Gaetz told reporters this afternoon that “no” progress was being made on getting the resolution passed.
From Politico’s Jordain Carney:
A House scene:
— Jordain Carney (@jordainc) September 19, 2023
Gaetz exits meeting of a dozen+ Republicans trying to find a path on the CR.
Any progress being made in there? Gaetz: “Um, no”
Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene also said House GOP were “nowhere near” getting the legislation passed.
From Punchbowl News’ Mica Soellner:
Scene outside Whip’s office — Dusty Johnson has walked out and Scott Perry walked in.
— Mica Soellner (@MicaSoellnerDC) September 19, 2023
MTG walked out and aid she’s making progress on Ukraine specifically but they’re “nowhere near” close to getting people on board.
Capitol police headquarters evacuated over suspicious package
The United States Capitol Police Headquarters was evacuated today over a suspicious package and vehicle found nearby the premises.
USCP Headquarters being evacuated because of a suspicious package nearby. Police ALSO investigating a suspicious vehicle (perhaps unrelated) in the D Street Tunnel
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) September 19, 2023
Many busy roads near the vehicle have also been temporary closed while police investigate.
This is near Union Station and a bunch of busy roads, some of which are temporarily closed.
— Burgess Everett (asapburgessev on 🧵) (@burgessev) September 19, 2023
"The USCP is continuing to investigate a Suspicious Vehicle in the 100 Block of D Street NE"
Updated
A date has been set for the first hearing of the inquiry into impeaching Joe Biden, with a government shut down looming.
The first hearing will be on 28 September, the Associated Press reported.
It will focus on “constitutional and legal questions” around Biden’s involvement in Hunter Biden’s international businesses, a House Oversight Committee spokesperson told AP.
House GOP members have insisted that Biden’s conduct as vice president point to a culture of corruption.”
Updated
The day so far
With the US government 12 days away from shutting down, House Republicans are plagued by infighting between Kevin McCarthy and a handful of far-right lawmakers who refuse to approve a measure to keep the government open through October. In a sign of how bad the split has become, a procedural vote on the short-term funding bill expected to happen today has been cancelled. But even if the House does get its ducks in a row, Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said the measure they would have voted on will not pass the Senate. It’s clear there’s lot of negotiating remaining if a government shutdown is to be avoided.
Here’s what else has happened today:
House Republicans will hold the first hearing of their impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden next week.
Biden addressed the United Nations general assembly in New York City, and we have a live blog covering the day’s events.
Jimmy Carter’s one-term presidency may have been on Biden’s mind as he pursued a deal with Iran that led to the release of seven Americans yesterday.
House Republicans cancel vote on short-term funding measure amid infighting
The House will not vote today on a measure to keep the government open past 30 September, amid a split between the chamber’s Republican leadership and a handful of far-right lawmakers that will cause a government shutdown if it is not resolved in 12 days, Punchbowl News reports:
🚨NEWS: House Republicans are pulling a procedural vote on the 30-day government funding bill, as they wrestle with changes to the legislation
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) September 19, 2023
Lawmakers had been scheduled to today vote to approve the rules of debate for the short-term funding measure, but it was unclear if it would have passed.
Yesterday, the Biden administration succeeded in getting seven Americans out of Iran in exchange for the release of five Iranians jailed in the United States and $6b in oil revenue. As the Guardian’s Robert Tait reports, one-term Democratic president Jimmy Carter may have been on the president’s mind as he negotiated with Iran for their release:
For all the widespread fear of a second Donald Trump presidency, the Biden White House could be forgiven for being more preoccupied by the spectre of Jimmy Carter and the baleful images of his last year in office.
Carter was the last Democratic president to serve only a first term, brought low by the searing drama of the Tehran embassy siege, when Iranian revolutionaries had overrun the US diplomatic compound and held 52 American personnel captive for more than a year, heaping international humiliation on a military superpower when the cold war was still at its height.
Having made liberating the hostages a personal mission, Carter, then the leader of the free world, was reduced to a picture of baggy-eyed, cardigan-wearing impotence as the standoff wore on, destroying his re-election chances and paving the way for a landslide defeat at the hands of a buoyant Ronald Reagan in 1980.
Adding insult to injury, the president’s nemesis, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini ensured the hostages were not released until moments after he left office on Reagan’s inauguration day, to ensure that the ignominy was all Carter’s.
This memory is surely somewhere in the mind of Joe Biden as he seeks to fend off Republican attacks on the terms of the recent deal that led to the release of a new generation of Americans held hostage in Iran.
Speaking of the Senate, the Guardian’s Martin Pengelly reports on a change to the chamber’s dress code that’s infuriating rightwing Republicans:
In a spat over coverage of the relaxation of the US Senate dress code, the Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman, who will now be allowed to wear his signature hoodies and shorts in the chamber, told the data analyst Nate Silver: “I dress like you predict.”
Silver, who rose to fame to run the polling site FiveThirtyEight.com but whose predictions for recent elections have proved controversial, had tweeted: “Starting a new political party for people who don’t give a shit either about how John Fetterman dresses or what Lauren Boebert does in a theatre.”
Boebert, a far-right House Republican from Colorado, has been ensnared in scandal over her ejection from a Denver theatre earlier this month, for behaviour during the Beetlejuice musical including taking selfies, vaping and groping her date.
Silver took Fetterman’s response in good humor, saying of his notional new party, “100% of our members so far think Fetterman is kind of inherently funny and the Boebert story is hilarious.”
The relaxation of the Senate dress code, which previously required formal wear for business in the chamber, was instituted by Chuck Schumer, the Democratic majority leader.
The New Yorker said he would still wear a suit but the move prompted criticism among Republicans and right-leaning media.
Schumer says even if GOP pass funding bill, Senate won't pass it
Even if House Republicans do manage to pass a short-term funding measure to stop the government from shutting down, the Senate’s Democratic leader Chuck Schumer says the bill, as written, won’t pass his chamber, Politico reports:
"Everyone knows that the House GOP's proposed CR will not pass the Senate," Schumer says.
— Burgess Everett (asapburgessev on 🧵) (@burgessev) September 19, 2023
The current proposal in the House contains spending cuts and border security measures unpalatable to many Democrats, and Schumer’s comments underscore just how big of a challenge it will be for Congress to reach an agreement on keeping the government funded beyond 30 September.
Updated
Biden addresses UN general assembly
Joe Biden is right now addressing global leaders gathered in New York City for the annual United Nations general assembly, and the Guardian’s Léonie Chao-Fong is covering it live. Follow along here:
Here are two tweets from Axios illustrating the split over government funding among House Republicans that could result in a shutdown in a matter of days.
South Carolina’s Ralph Norman is a member of the rightwing Freedom Caucus and among those rejecting the current short-term funding proposal that Kevin McCarthy’s wing of the Republican party wants to pass. The measure would cut spending and increase border security in exchange for keeping the government open through October, but Norman plainly says a government shutdown is necessary to extract even deeper cuts:
“The odds of not having a shutdown are slim to none,” says GOP Rep. Ralph Norman.
— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) September 19, 2023
Questions the value of a 30-day CR and says the right needs to push hard for spending cuts: “Will it take a couple weeks of shutdown? Probably so. That’s a fight we need to have right now.”
Now here’s Mike Lawler of New York, who represents a district Joe Biden won in the 2020 election. He’s clearly not a fan of the right flank of his party’s quest to cut spending even if it causes a shutdown:
GOP Rep. Lawler railing against the right over their opposition to spending bills: “This is not conservative Republicanism. This is stupidity … these people can’t define a win. They don’t know how to take yes for an answer. It’s a clown show.”
— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) September 18, 2023
House Republicans plan first Biden impeachment hearing next week - report
The Republican-controlled House oversight committee will on Thursday of next week hold its first hearing since Kevin McCarthy announced the chamber would begin impeachment proceedings against Joe Biden, Fox News reports:
1) Fox has learned the House Oversight Commitee ia aiming to hold an impeachment hearing next Thursday - the first hearing since House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) formalized an impeachment inquiry last week.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) September 19, 2023
2) However, Fox is told that hearing won’t tread any new ground necessarily. It will simply be a review of the existing evidence and explain the status of the inquiry.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) September 19, 2023
3) Fox has learned that the Oversight Commitee plans to subpoena the bank records of Hunter Biden and James Biden this week.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) September 19, 2023
As to the timing of the overall inquiry, Fox is told leaders would like to conclude this before the primary season.
Since they took control of the House at the start of the year, Republicans have been investigating Biden and his family members, particularly his son Hunter, and the impeachment inquiry is expected to essentially be a continuation of that effort. However, the GOP has yet to find proof of any corruption on the president’s part, and it remains unclear if House Republicans have the votes to impeach Biden.
Here’s more from the Guardian’s David Smith on the state of play in the House as Kevin McCarthy tries to manage an unruly Republican caucus that can’t agree on funding the government or, potentially, even whether he should remain as speaker:
A short-term spending bill in the US Congress has slammed into opposition from far-right Republicans, intensifying the risk of a government shutdown and Kevin McCarthy losing his speakership.
As another week of negotiations wears on, Republicans in the House of Representatives are in a state of “civil war”, according to the Democratic minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries. Less than two weeks remain to find money to keep federal agencies afloat.
Late on Sunday a group of hardline and moderate Republicans reached agreement on a short-term stopgap spending bill, known as a “continuing resolution” or CR, that could help McCarthy move forward on defence legislation.
The measure would keep the government running until the end of October, giving Congress more time to enact full-scale appropriations for 2024. The Politico website reported that the Heritage Foundation, an influential conservative thinktank, had thrown its weight behind the proposed CR.
But it remains unclear whether it can garner enough Republican support to pass the House. At least a dozen members came out against it or expressed scepticism. Matt Gaetz, a Florida congressman who has called for McCarthy’s removal, tweeted that the CR is “a betrayal of Republicans” while Majorie Taylor Greene of Georgia posted: “I’m a NO!”
Funding dispute poses threat to McCarthy's speakership
There’s no path forward yet to pass a short-term funding measure to keep the US government open beyond 1 October, and if House speaker Kevin McCarthy can’t unite his unruly Republican caucus, some have wondered if he may seek an agreement with the Democratic minority.
The GOP controls the House by only four votes, and lawmakers who want to avoid the economically damage spectacle of the federal government running out of money could unite with Democrats on what would probably be a straightforward short-term funding measure that does not address any other legislative priorities. But if he does that, Punchbowl News reports far-right House Republicans may attempt to oust him from the speaker’s post, taking advantage of an agreement McCarthy made at the start of the year.
“The thing that would force the motion to vacate is if Kevin has to rely on Democrat votes to pass a” continuing resolution, as the funding measure is known, Republican Ken Buck told Punchbowl. But the lawmaker also admitted that he’s not sure whether the GOP can reach an agreement on funding the government.
“I don’t see how we can pass the bill [a CR] without Democrat votes,” Buck said.
US government shutdown lurches closer amid GOP infighting in the House
Good morning, US politics live blog readers. We’re 12 days away from the US government shutting down when its funding runs out on 1 October, but in the House of Representatives, Republicans are consumed with infighting and an agreement’s prospects are highly uncertain. The split is between House speaker Kevin McCarthy and a group of the most conservative lawmakers – many of whom prevented him from becoming the chamber’s leader for days at the start of the year, and remain bitter over a deal he negotiated with Joe Biden in May to raise the debt ceiling while cutting some spending. McCarthy is trying to get House Republicans to vote on a bill that will fund the government for a few weeks while cutting some spending and further enforcing security at US borders, but the rightwing lawmakers refuse to support it. Nonetheless, the House is expected to today take an early vote on the measure – and if it fails, the odds of a shutdown will creep ever higher.
Here’s what else we are watching today:
Joe Biden is in New York City for the United Nations general assembly, and we have a live blog covering all the day’s speakers, including Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Donald Trump is trying to use his mug shot to boost support among Black voters, who typically vote Democratic, but there’s no evidence yet his strategy is working, Axios reports.
Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, shared a photo of the five detained Americans and two family members released by Iran yesterday, as they flew home to the United States.
Updated
