Stopgap spending bill fails in the House; shutdown looms

By Rosalind S. Helderman and Paul Kane,
WashPost
Published: September 21

The surprise defeat in the House Wednesday of a special funding measure to keep the federal government functioning past Sept. 30 was a sharp rebuke of the GOP leadership that controls the chamber and a testament to the fragility of the majority itself.

The rejection of the measure resurrected the specter of a government shutdown at the end of the month and suggested that the heated confrontations that dominated Washington in the spring and early summer are likely to return this fall.

While it is widely expected that the parties will eventually reach a compromise to avoid a shutdown, Wednesday’s 230-to-195 vote showed what can happen when the GOP majority operates with no more than minimal Democratic support.

The failure of the bill was the result of a new solidarity among Democrats on funding issues and old divisions among Republicans on spending reductions.

(More here.)