McConnell Warns It’d Be ‘Politically Beyond Stupid’ To Shut Down Government Before Election

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday said it is in the best interest of his party to avoid a government shutdown, adding that it would be “politically beyond stupid” for the GOP to go down this route ahead of the presidential election.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the lower chamber would hold a vote Wednesday on a government funding resolution tied to a voter fraud bill, which appears doomed to fail.

Speaking to reporters inside the U.S. Capitol, McConnell warned that his party would be held responsible in the event that the government shuts down, suggesting Republicans could draw backlash from voters in November.

“My only observation about this whole discussion is the one thing you cannot have is a government shutdown,” he said. “It would be politically beyond stupid for us to do that right before the election, because certainly we’d get the blame.”

“I’m for whatever avoids a government shutdown and that’ll ultimately end up obviously being a discussion between the [Senate] Democratic leader and the speaker of the House,” McConnell continued.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) urged Johnson to drop his plan for a vote on the two measures this week, despite the Louisiana Republican’s claims that he is not prepared to discuss any alternatives to keep the government open past Sept. 30, when the fiscal year ends.

“The only thing that will accomplish is make clear that he’s running into a dead end. We must have a bipartisan — a bipartisan — plan instead,” Schumer said.

Johnson originally tried to hold a vote on the six-month continuing resolution paired with the SAVE Act, which includes a provision requiring people to present proof of citizenship to register to vote, last week but was forced to postpone it due to bipartisan opposition.

Given Republicans’ slim majority in the House, Johnson could only afford to lose a handful of GOP votes without having to rely on Democrats for the package’s passage. At least one Democrat has so far signaled he would support it. Many hard-line Republicans have opposed the funding bill on the grounds that it doesn’t go far enough in terms of federal spending cuts.

Johnson’s insistence on passing the voter fraud bill has drawn criticism given it appears to be a way to appease former President Donald Trump, who baselessly claims there is widespread fraud in U.S. elections despite no evidence to back that up.

The GOP presidential nominee has encouraged Republicans to shut down the government if an agreement is not reached for the SAVE Act to be paired with the funding bill.