• US Congress faces expense & ethics debate.
• Kelly Armstrong acknowledged the difficulty of achieving consensus within their caucus.
• House hardliners are against combining border security.

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives is set to return for what is expected to be a contentious battle over spending cuts and impeachment, potentially leading to gridlock in the Republican-controlled chamber as Congress strives to avoid a government shutdown.

With only about 12 legislative days remaining before the funding deadline on September 30, both the House and the Democratic-controlled Senate face a tight timeline to reach an agreement on a package of 12 appropriations bills that can pass both chambers and receive President Joe Biden’s approval.

The primary point of contention among House Republicans revolves around the demands of approximately three-dozen members from the hardline House Freedom Caucus.

They are pushing for a reduction in spending for fiscal year 2024 to $1.47 trillion, which is roughly $120 billion less than the spending level agreed upon by President Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy back in May.

However, these demands have been rejected by the White House and Senate leaders, including top Republican Mitch McConnell.

This dispute, along with other hardline stances such as opposition to aid for Ukraine and calls for an impeachment inquiry against President Biden, could jeopardize the passage of a short-term stopgap measure known as a continuing resolution (CR).

A CR would keep federal agencies operational while lawmakers deliberate on full-scale appropriations.

Representative Kelly Armstrong, a Republican, acknowledged the difficulty of achieving consensus within their caucus, given its diversity and slim five-vote majority.

He emphasized the challenges of threading the needle in such circumstances.

Speaker McCarthy’s leadership could face threats if he seeks Democratic support to avert a government shutdown or if he fails to advance an impeachment inquiry, which some of former President Donald Trump’s House allies are pushing for, despite the lack of sufficient votes.

Prior political brinkmanship over the debt ceiling has already prompted Fitch rating agency to downgrade U.S. debt from its top AAA rating to AA+ due to the repeated last-minute negotiations that put the government’s ability to meet its financial obligations at risk.

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates underscored the potential risks of failing to pass $24 billion in supplemental funding for Ukraine, $16 billion for disaster-stricken U.S. communities, and funding to combat the opioid crisis related to fentanyl. Such delays could potentially put lives at risk.

Hardline Republicans insist on including offsets for spending on disaster relief and Ukraine aid in any CR, as well as advocating for stricter immigration and border security policies.

Representative Ralph Norman, a member of the Freedom Caucus, expressed a preference for a government shutdown if these spending cuts were not implemented.

This stance could create complications for McCarthy’s aspirations to advance spending legislation, including an $886 billion defense appropriations bill, this week.

With a thin 222-212 majority in the House, Republicans have passed only one appropriations bill thus far, while the Senate is planning to move forward with bipartisan bills, hoping to gain leverage in negotiations with the House.

House hardliners are against combining border security and Ukraine aid in a separate measure.

Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry stressed the need for significant wins for the American people to secure their votes, reiterating their transparent stance on what it takes to garner their support.

These demands have caused friction within the Republican Party, with Representative Don Bacon advocating for House Republicans to accept the higher spending level set by the McCarthy-Biden agreement and opt for a relatively clean CR instead of risking a government shutdown.

However, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has pledged not to support funding measures unless the House initiates an inquiry into unproven allegations concerning President Biden’s involvement in his son Hunter’s overseas business dealings while serving as vice president. Both President Biden and the White House have denied these claims.

Some Republicans disagree with tying an impeachment inquiry to the spending debate, and Democrats have dismissed such talk as an attempt to divert attention from former President Trump’s legal issues.

Democratic Senator John Fetterman characterized the impeachment discussions as futile until the requisite votes are secured.

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