The House is scheduled to vote on a short-term budget deal Thursday afternoon, but the latest count shows that House GOP leaders don't have enough votes. Now, President Trump has thrown a wrench into Speaker Ryan's bargaining power, tweeting that the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) shouldn't be included in a short-term plan.
Reason Magazine Editor-at-Large Matt Welch explains why a government shutdown "may happen by accident." Since it's been almost five years since the last shutdown, Welch says politicians may have forgotten how much Americans hate it when the government comes to a halt.
If Republican leaders can't get enough votes for the short-term budget deal, then Congress will only have 24 hours to put another deal together. The last time the government shut down was October 2013.
President Joe Biden has met with new House Speaker Mike Johnson at the White House. Johnson was joined by Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries as they discussed Biden's request for nearly $106 billion for Israel, Ukraine and other national security needs.
The new leader of one of the chambers of Congress that will certify the winner of next year's presidential election helped spearhead the attempt to overturn the last one, raising alarms that Republicans could try to subvert the will of the voters if they remain in power despite safeguards enacted after the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.