- The US government shut down in 2013 after Congress failed to fund the government for another year.
- Ten years later, Congress appears to be on course toward a similar government shutdown.
A former GOP congressional leader who oversaw the party during the 2013 government shutdown said he doesn't think there's currently a "win" in sight for modern-day congressional Republicans as they push for a similar shutdown a decade later.
In an interview with Politico, former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor warned the current Republican Party not to make the same mistakes it made in 2013 when congressional Republicans shut down the government in an effort to halt the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) from going into effect.
While overseeing the House Republicans in 2013, Cantor said he had trouble understanding that there were people in his party pining for a shutdown that was "so poorly conceived that there was no exit strategy at all." He said that many of the GOP's politicians at the time were more than happy to use the shutdown as an opportunity to vent their anger, but ultimately left "it to leaders to figure out how to get out of it."
Ten years later, Cantor thinks a similar situation may be on the verge of occurring.
In addition to not having a clear "exit strategy," Cantor said there's not a visible "win" in sight for Republicans. He said there's no evidence that the party has a clear-enough point to hammer in the run-up of the possible shutdown, even if they attempt to push immigration control, a possible impeachment of President Joe Biden, reducing government spending levels, or limiting the amount of money going to Ukraine
Though the Republicans hold a very slim majority in the House, Cantor said he doesn't think House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is at much risk of losing his job in the looming event of a shutdown. He noted that there doesn't seem to be a "real alternative" to McCarthy at the moment.
With the government's next fiscal year beginning on October 1, Congress has little time remaining to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government in the short term before agreeing to a larger spending package. If a deal isn't made, hundreds of thousands of government employees will be furloughed until an agreement is found.