US House Speaker Moves to Recess Congress... Shutdown Fears Amid Budget Bill Delay

Bloomberg News reported on the 21st (local time) that the Republican Party, the majority party in the U.S. House of Representatives, has put Congress into recess due to internal disagreements delaying the passage of next year's federal budget. There are concerns that the U.S. government may face a shutdown.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Republican leadership decided this, stating that if a vote on the budget necessary for next year's federal government operations takes place, they will provide sufficient notice before October 26.

To prevent a government shutdown, the budget must be passed before October 1, when the 2024 fiscal year begins. With the deadline just ten days away, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, is pushing to pass a one-month temporary budget of $1.471 trillion to cover expenses until October 31, in order to buy time for negotiations with the party's hardliners. Speaker McCarthy aimed for a vote on the 23rd and tried to persuade the hardliners within the Republican Party, but as negotiations stalled, the decision to recess was ultimately made.

The hardliners within the Republican Party are a minority, but they hold the right to call a motion to vacate the chair against Speaker McCarthy, and since the Republicans maintain a slim majority in the House by only 10 seats, they are criticized for wielding disproportionate influence relative to their numbers.

With the Republican leadership deciding to recess today, concerns are growing that legislation to prevent a federal government shutdown may fail to pass in Congress.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.