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- Domenico Montanaro, NPR's Senior Political Editor and Correspondent
Sept. 30, 2023
This week, we looked at the looming government shutdown, the first impeachment inquiry hearing into President Biden and the second GOP debate. Plus, remembering Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
The Big Picture: Shutdown countdown
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
Funding the federal government is one of the most basic tasks for Congress but, barring some sort of last-minute reprieve, the government is almost certainly shutting down at the end of the day on Saturday when funding runs out.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., seemed to be trying to avoid this exact moment when he cut a deal with President Biden to set spending caps for two years as part of an earlier agreement to increase the debt limit. But the clash we see in Congress today has been brewing since the moment that deal became law.
Hardline members of McCarthy’s party hated the deal back then and they still hate it now. Usually in divided government, lawmakers are forced to compromise when both sides admit they won’t get everything they want. That just isn’t happening this time.
These far-right members believe McCarthy promised that their voices would be reflected in the legislation that passes the House. So they are using the unique power they have in one of the slimmest House Majorities in modern history to grind everything to a halt.
They have threatened to remove McCarthy from the speakership if he does not comply with their demands for deep spending cuts that would curtail the functions of government as it is structured today.
That puts them at direct odds with many other House Republicans, every Democrat in Congress and most Republicans in the Senate. It also means a traditional compromise solution that would reopen the government seems far from certain.
Republicans debut their impeachment case: The House Oversight Committee held its first impeachment inquiry hearing into President Biden this week, a six-hour affair that was at times both chaotic and antagonistic. Republicans have zeroed in on Biden’s son Hunter, but struggled to make the case that the president himself committed high crimes and misdemeanors.
What to expect when you’re expecting (a shutdown): Barring a dramatic turn of events, we’re careening toward a government shutdown at midnight. And unlike theprevious shutdowns in 2013 and 2018-19 – where the military and other key services had already been funded – this will be a full government shutdown. But that doesn’t mean everything grinds to a halt. Here’s our rundown on what’s closed and what’s open when the clock strikes 12.
Menendez under fire: The New Jersey senator is facing a chorus of calls to step down from his Democratic colleagues. Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman said “hell yeah” when asked if he would endorse a primary challenge against Menendez. "The last time there was a guy in New Jersey with this much cash in his house [it] was Tony Soprano,” Fetterman said. Democratic N.J. Rep. Andy Kim has already thrown his hat in the primary ring, and former Democrat-turned Republican N.J. Rep. Jeff Van Drew said he was “seriously considering” entering the race.
Ronald Reagan, Donald Duck and politicians “sleeping with teachers”: All three made an appearance in this week’s second Republican presidential debate. GOP frontrunner Donald Trump was physically absent, but his presence loomed large as seven hopefuls tried to break free from the pack. Read on for more takeaways, or listen to our recap from the NPR Politics Podcast.
Can pickleball save America? Maybe not – but senators say the fastest growing sport in the country can help build relationships across the aisle. Congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh and I spent a morning with lawmakers who are starting up pickleball caucuses as a way to get active and get to know their colleagues off the chamber floor. This is a story meant to be heard, if I do say so myself.
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Duke Downey/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the longest-serving woman in the Senate, died at the age of 90 this week. Elected in 1992, a wave election known as the “Year of the Woman,” the California Democrat leaves behind a trailblazing legacy.
During her time in the Senate, she championed gun control legislation, released a comprehensive report on torture by the CIA and opened doors for women in politics. In her later years, she faced criticism from Democrats who felt she was too moderate and remained in office too long.
• KQED’s Scott Shafer has this look at her political rise, beginning in San Francisco when her city was jolted by two political assassinations at City Hall
President Biden became the first sitting president to join striking workers on a picket line in the modern era this week. In an extraordinary show of support for union members, Biden walked the picket line with striking UAW auto workers at a Michigan GM facility in Michigan Tuesday.
Biden has said he aims to be "the most pro-union president in American history." He won the UAW's endorsement in 2020, but the union has yet to make an endorsement in the 2024 race.
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