The new date is Dec 1, 2021.
A group of conservative House Republicans on Wednesday urged Senate Minority LeaderMitch McConnell to force the federal government to run out of money this week unless lawmakers move to defund vaccine mandates imposed by President Joe Biden.
The clock is running on the government funding that is set to expire Friday night. They're threatening a government shutdown if they don't get their way.
The images are from the same company.
The House Freedom Caucus asked McConnell to use all procedural tools at his disposal to deny the timely passage of a short-term government funding measure unless it prohibits funding for vaccine mandates introduced this fall.
The group insisted that Senate Republicans should use the looming government shutdown as leverage to encourage Democrats to back down on their orders, even though some of the mandates have already been challenged and delayed by courts.
Chuck Schumer told reporters that he made good progress in talks with McConnell, but that a forced shutdown could cause total chaos.
It's not clear how Republican senators will respond to a continuing resolution that needs to be passed by Friday to avoid a government shutdown, but on Tuesday McConnell, whose office did not immediately respond to Forbes' request for comment, vowed the government wouldn't shut down.
If Democrats don't agree to withholding funding to implement the vaccine mandates, it's possible at least one of the senators necessary for an objection could delay a streamlined funding resolution, forcing a slew of procedural measures that would cause a shutdown through at least Sunday.
A group of Republican Senators signed a letter last month that denounced Biden's "cruel campaign to punish unvaccinated Americans" and pledged to reject any legislation that funds or enables enforcement of the mandates.
Schumer said that the Republican choice to block the bill and extension legislation can be summed up in two words. Any group of people can say they want to shut down the government. We will have total chaos.
The key background.
In recent months, the Biden Administration has rolled out a series of Covid-19 vaccine mandates for tens of millions of American workers, including those in healthcare, federal employees and contractors. The White House says the orders would increase vaccination rates and protect workers, but the mandates have faced setbacks in the courts. A judge temporarily blocked the mandates for workers at healthcare facilities on Tuesday.
What to watch for.
The House has yet to vote on a measure to fund the government. On Wednesday, the House Majority Leader told Democrats that McConnell had yet to agree on a date for a vote. He said that they were waiting for the Senate to decide what date they could agree on.
There is a structure called the Tangent.
Congress failed to approve a spending measure by the end of the fiscal year, and a stopgap measure passed in late September will run out Friday. Unless another one is passed, non essential federal services will stop and those deemed essential will continue operating. According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, as many as three in five of the 2.1 million federal civilian employees would be forced to stop working if there is no appropriation. Agency staff wouldn't be on hand to process new applications or claims, but Americans would still receive ongoing benefits.
Judge Halts Biden's vaccine mandate for healthcare workers.
A court blocks a vaccine mandate for healthcare workers.
There is a government shutdown just days away.
