Lawmakers go head to head in a congressional baseball game while possible government shutdown looms
- Members of Congress took off to play its annual Congressional Baseball Game Wednesday night, a day before the potential government shutdown.
- Jon Ossoff, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and several others played in the game.
- The Republicans won the game 13-12.
Congressional lawmakers - including Marjorie Taylor Greene, Eric Swalwell, and Jon Ossoff - participated in an annual baseball game at Nationals Park in DC a day before a potential government shutdown.
"Hopefully people will leave the politics under the Capitol dome," House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries said of the game, according to Reuters.
However, Jeffries' desire to "leave politics under the Capitol dome" appears ill-timed, as Congress faces a debt ceiling crisis and a looming shutdown.
While some politicians took part in the game, congressional deliberations around the debt ceiling continued. On Wednesday, the House passed a bill to suspend the US debt ceiling, but it is expected to go down in the Senate amid Republican objections.
"Tomorrow, the Senate will vote on legislation to prevent a needless shutdown, provide long-sought emergency funding to help Americans still reeling from natural disasters, and provide funding to help re-settle Afghan refugees," Sen. Chuck Schumer tweeted on Wednesday night.
Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has repeatedly urged Republicans not to support the Democrat-sponsored $3.5 trillion social-spending bill.
The Congressional Baseball Game has occurred annually in DC since 1909, though it was canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Traditionally, congressional Democrats face off against Republicans and proceeds earned go to local DC charities such as The Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington and the United States Capitol Police Memorial Fund.
The Republicans won the game 13-12. This was their first win since 2016 and 3rd win in a decade.
You can view the full team rosters here.