House Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is floating an end-run around the Republican-controlled House to avert another government shutdown. Jeffries’ proposal would allow the Senate to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government open and avoid a costly shutdown, and then bypass current House Speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in order to get it passed by the House ahead of an upcoming deadline. McCarthy has been privately lobbying Republican leaders to support President Donald Trump’s demand for $5 billion in wall funding as a condition of keeping the government open, but the White House’s proposal has been met with staunch opposition from Democrats. Jeffries’ proposal could bypass McCarthy’s authority and allow House Democrats to pass a short-term spending bill that would keep the government open and push off any negotiations over wall funding until 2020.
