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As Government Shutdown Looms, McCarthy Says GOP Hard-Liners Want to “Burn the Whole Place Down”

HeadlineSep 22, 2023

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has dismissed lawmakers for an extended weekend, after a handful of Republican hard-liners rebelled and blocked an $886 billion Pentagon spending bill. McCarthy blamed members of his caucus for wanting to “burn the whole place down.” Their defection makes it increasingly likely the federal government will shut down on October 1 when funding for federal agencies expires. On Thursday, Democratic Congressmember Ilhan Omar blasted Republicans for demanding massive cuts to social programs.

Rep. Ilhan Omar: “Now they launch some of the most radical cuts to healthcare, to housing assistance, to food assistance, to the postal office and nearly every program under the sun — all while doing nothing to rein in our nearly trillion-dollar Pentagon budget or the trillions they have handed out to millionaires and billionaires through the Trump tax cuts.”

Meanwhile, the Pentagon says it will exempt its Ukraine operations from any government shutdown to allow it to continue training Ukrainian soldiers and shipping arms to Kyiv. We’ll have more on the congressional budget fight later in the broadcast with California Congressmember Ro Khanna.

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