Government shutdown looms as new speaker struggles to control hardliners
New House Speaker Mike Johnson may already be losing his first big clash with the hard-right lawmakers who are making the Republican majority and the nation ungovernable as time races down to yet another federal funding cut-off.
The Louisiana conservative, who was just lifted from obscurity to second in line to the presidency, may soon find himself in the position that doomed his predecessor Rep. Kevin McCarthy needing Democratic votes to keep the government open.
A funding deadline of Friday night means Washington again faces a wild ride of shutdown brinkmanship caused by extreme GOP lawmakers who either cannot or dont want to help run the country. The imbroglio is not just harming Americas image as a functioning democracy abroad. It has already wasted every week of the House majority partys term since the summer and threatens to further weaken the key swing-district members critical to the GOPs hopes of keeping the gavel in next years election.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/13/politics/mike-johnson-shutdown-house-gop-government-budget/index.html