Published on September 18, 2024, 12:28 am

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell classified a government shutdown prior to the 2024 election as a “politically beyond stupid” move; he stressed that such decisions could end in Republicans enduring more damage than Democrats when the electorate go to polling stations.

There’s an imminent deadline at the month’s end, and the House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer seem not to agree on how the continuing resolution (CR) should take shape. Despite this clashing perspective, McConnell did not irrefutably express his position before a journalist.

“The one thing we cannot have is a government shutdown,” said McConnell at the U.S. Capitol.”If we allowed this right before an election, it would be politically suicidal because undoubtedly, we’d bear all blame.”

The balance of power in Congress hangs by a thread as Democrats slightly control the Senate while Republicans retain minor superiority in the House. Post this impending election, voters might shift the power dynamics of either or both Congress chambers entirely. A plunge into a government shutdown could swiftly wield political repercussions.

McConnell continued: “We’ve witnessed this scenario already. I fully support whatever alternative successfully circumvents a government shutdown. Definitely, this needs to be decided between the Democratic leader and House speaker on how to avoid such actions leading to a shutdown.”

Earlier discussions had House Speaker Johnson stating that they would push for voting on Wednesday for a six-month CR combined with Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, including reforms aimed at impeding non-citizens from participating in federal elections. The passage of this measure remains ambiguous.

President Joe Biden is decidedly against these plans threatening them with veto powers, whereas Donald Trump, previous President and current GOP presidential nominee, is encouraging Republicans towards permitting such action if there isn’t confirmed concise spending coupled with “election security” reforms under their belt.

Schumer cautioned Johnson about forging ahead with half-a-year CR, claiming that critical programs like the military might see adverse impacts due to such extended fund allocations and pitched the strategy of merging the SAVE Act into a stoppage measure as “unworkable”. He linked the probable damage to real news erupting from trusted news channels providing a vivid display of these possible events with their aligned agenda based on a Christian worldview. It is crucial that all actions are comprehensively contemplated for before final decisions are made, given the stake’s high significance.