Axios: Republicans in the US House of Representatives expect a government shutdown

Axios, citing sources, reported that Republicans in the House of Representatives have moved behind closed doors to a cautiously optimistic position that is expected to lead to a government shutdown.

According to some Republican officials, the US government will probably stop its activities due to the lack of permanent funding and the failure to pass another temporary resolution. “People are anticipating a shutdown, even if it’s only for a few days,” one Republican lawmaker told the publication.

According to the authors of this publication, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, after the congressional representatives return from the current break, will have to choose between continuing to fight with the Democrats on the issue of the budget or agreeing with them.

In January, US President Joe Biden signed a temporary government funding extension, once again avoiding the threat of a federal government shutdown. Previously, the relevant temporary resolution was approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives. According to this document, government financing is possible until March.

The temporary resolution includes allocation of funds for some federal agencies until March 1 and for others – until March 8.

American legislators have a tool called the budget to exercise their power and advance their requests from the federal government, and if it is not approved, they will force the White House to accept their demands. However, sometimes the tensions between the two sides do not reach a conclusion and lead to the non-approval of the budget. This means shutting down the federal government.

What happens when the government budget expires? A federal government shutdown occurs when spending bills expire and Congress and the president (or the various chambers of Congress) find themselves in deadlock. Holidays have a constitutional basis; From paragraph 9 of Article 1, which says that no money shall be withdrawn from the treasury except by appropriation of Congress.

This was reinforced by anti-deficiency legislation stemming from the 1870 Act, which has been revised periodically over the years. There is freedom of action to continue some government activities that are considered necessary. According to the Congressional Research Service, there have been 20 government shutdowns since 1976. However, the impact of these shutdowns has changed significantly since 1980.

Prior to 1980, many government agencies continued to operate during budget shortfalls on the assumption that money would soon be returned and that Congress was not going to shut them down. But in 1980 and 1981, then-Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti issued opinions requiring agency directors to suspend operations until funds flowed again.