Congress votes down spending bill as government shutdown looms

JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:

Earlier this evening, the House voted down a short-term spending bill, even with the deadline for funding the government rapidly approaching. The bill failed largely because Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, insisted on including a measure intended to prevent undocumented immigrants from voting. That is already illegal, and the measure itself is controversial, even among some Republicans.

NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales is following this. She’s on Capitol Hill, and joins she us now. Hi there.

CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE: Hi, Juana.

SUMMERS: Claudia, start off with the most basic of questions – will the government shut down when the current spending bill runs out at the end of the month?

GRISALES: It could. Congress only has a few legislative days left before funding expires on September 30, but congressional leaders adamantly do not want that to happen. Even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said it would be politically beyond stupid. But House Speaker Mike Johnson needed to bring up this version with the voting measures in part because of pressure from Trump, who told Republicans they should vote against anything in terms of spending that does not include this measure. So Johnson needed to go with plan A before moving on to other options.

SUMMERS: OK. So Claudia, if that was his plan A, tell us, what is his plan B? And also, where are Senate Democrats on all of this?

GRISALES: Well, Johnson hasn’t said what the next step is, but it certainly could be a plan that appeases Democrats. Republicans are worried they’ll get the blame if there’s a shutdown this time around. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer even quoted McConnell today when pushing for a bipartisan plan.

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CHUCK SCHUMER: My friend, the Republican leader, said yesterday that, if Republicans shut the government down, quote, “it would be politically beyond stupid for us to do that because we,” meaning Republicans, “get the blame,” unquote. Leader McConnell is absolutely correct.

GRISALES: Schumer and other Democrats have already said this voting measure would be dead on arrival in the Senate. That means Johnson will once again have to rely on Democrats, along with Republicans, to pass a stopgap.

SUMMERS: Claudia, I mean, this is all happening while Washington is grappling with a lot of things, including a second apparent assassination attempt against former President Trump. Is there the possibility that Congress could try to address issues at the Secret Service in some way during these negotiations?

GRISALES: That is possible, but they’re a long way from putting together a potential plan, and it’s unclear if they could draw one up quickly enough. I talked to the spokesman for the Secret Service today, and he told me talks are underway between the agency and members of Congress on a path forward. Ronald Rowe, the acting director of the Secret Service, is now in Washington following briefings in Florida and meeting with Trump. And the agency spokesman reiterated they’re in the midst of shifting from a reactive security posture to more of a readiness model.

SUMMERS: What do they mean by that – “readiness model”?

GRISALES: Yeah, it could be a reimagining of the agency. It could include expanding Secret Service personnel, resources, equipment so they could be prepared in advance in locations like the Trump-owned golf courses – actions that could allow them to be in place well ahead of time, instead of just reacting. But there’s plenty of challenges hammering this all out. Speaker Johnson told reporters today that maybe money is not the issue to address this crisis quickly.

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MIKE JOHNSON: Even if we gave them $3 billion tomorrow, it’s impossible to hire 2,500 new Secret Service agents in a short period of time.

SUMMERS: And Claudia, quickly, Republicans have been asking for Trump to receive the same level of protection as a sitting president. In the near term, is that something that’s possible?

GRISALES: Well, his protective status was elevated to the highest level possible following the first assassination attempt in Butler, Pa. The commander-in-chief is protected by a whole broader government security apparatus that includes other agencies, but Republicans want the same, so there’s a lot of work ahead here.

SUMMERS: That’s NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales. Thank you.

GRISALES: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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