Itching for a Fight
Author: Greg Valliere
September 15, 2023
THE ACRIMONY AMONG REPUBLICANS IN THE HOUSE over the budget reached a boiling point yesterday, as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy lashed out, in a profane rant, at hard-line conservatives who seem eager for a shutdown. Do you think the United Auto Workers are itching for a fight? Try talking to the Freedom Caucus hard-liners in the House; who really want a fight.
EVEN THE HARD-RIGHT Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said this week that she can’t agree with the “burn it all down” caucus in the House, which wants a shutdown — and the ouster of McCarthy as speaker. The hard-liners are aghast to see the federal budget deficit approaching $2 trillion this year, and they’re determined to take action..
THE BELEAGUERED McCARTHY gave up on passing a defense spending bill yesterday; normally, this is the most popular measure in Congress, loaded with pork for home districts. But even this bill can’t pass.
McCARTHY’S GOAL is to win passage of a continuing resolution by Sept. 30 which would kick the can down the road until the ultimate battle — getting a final deal done by late December. The immediate challenge for McCarthy is to get something done in the next week, but the far right wants fresh spending cuts, border reform and other measures that would have no chance of passage in the Senate, which has its own divisions.
SO AN IMPASSE LOOMS: A deal by Sept. 30 looks increasingly unlikely, which the media will portray as a great crisis. But there are more important issues in Washington — the Fed’s upcoming meeting, Joe Biden’s astonishing free-fall in the polls, and the divisive issue of more aid to Ukraine.
IT’S TOO SOON TO PANIC OVER THE AUTO STRIKE, because the companies have built up inventories and the union has a decent strike relief fund, and it’s too early to panic over a government shutdown. But if there’s no sign of a resolution on either of these impasses, the markets could get jittery — especially as credit rating agencies like Fitch frown on the U.S. dysfunction.
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