The Government Is In Danger Of Shutting Down This Week. Yes, Again.

For the fourth time in five months, lawmakers are staring down the barrel of another possible shutdown of the federal government, this time a partial shuttering that would start Saturday.

Coming off a two-week break, senators landed back in Washington Monday, and House lawmakers are set to arrive Wednesday evening, with just two days to spare before the deadline to keep agencies like the Agriculture, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development Departments open.

President Joe Biden invited the top Democratic and Republican leaders from the House and Senate to the White House Tuesday morning to discuss the problem, but it’s unclear whether it will help resolve things.

“It is a basic, basic priority or duty of Congress is to keep the government open. That’s what the president wants to see. He’ll have those conversations,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre Monday.

While Democrats and Republicans in the Senate are generally on board with avoiding a partial government shutdown, House Republicans will again be the wildcard, as hardliners among them are itching for a fight over border policy and the still green House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) may face a choice between placating them and saving his job.

The House Freedom Caucus, a collection of the Republican Party’s most conservative and libertarian members in the House, issued a list of disputed spending items in the annual funding bills that it said Republicans should stand up for before voting to again keep the government open.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) has been among the most vocal in threatening a shutdown to win concessions from Democrats. He accused party leaders of not fighting hard enough in a series of social media posts Monday.

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