THERE LAST WEEK. HIS NEXT COURT APPEARANCE IS SET FOR DECEMBER
30TH. WELL, WITH JUST OVER A
WEEK TO GO BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
CONGRESS IS FACING YET ANOTHER
POTENTIAL PARTIAL FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN. LAWMAKERS
HAVE UNTIL FRIDAY NIGHT TO COME
TO AN AGREEMENT TO KEEP THE
GOVERNMENT FUNDED. IT WAS JUST
BACK IN SEPTEMBER WHEN CONGRESS
AVERTED A SHUTDOWN AHEAD OF THE
ELECTION. YOU MIGHT REMEMBER
THAT. WELL, SPEAKING ON CAPITOL
HILL YESTERDAY, SENATE MINORITY
LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL STRESSED
THE IMPORTANCE OF AVOIDING A
SHUTDOWN, EXTENDING GOVERNMENT
FUNDING BY FRIDAY IS OUR TOP
PRIORITY.
>> SHUTTING THE GOVERNMENT DOWN
IS A ONE WAY TICKET TO NEEDLESS
DISRUPTION OF IMPORTANT
FUNCTIONS. IT’S NEVER BEEN A
WINNING PROPOSITION AND THIS
TIME IS NO DIFFERENT.
>> FOR THE LATEST, LET’S BRING
IN NBC NEWS CAPITOL HILL
CORRESPONDENT ALI VITALI. ALI
GOOD MORNING. SO LAWMAKERS ARE
TRYING TO PASS THE STOPGAP BILL
THAT WOULD FUND THE GOVERNMENT
AT LEAST INTO THE FIRST FEW
MONTHS OF 2025. WHERE DO THINGS
STAND RIGHT NOW? WHAT ARE THE
OPTIONS ON THE TABLE?
>> STOP ME IF YOU’VE HEARD THIS
ONE BEFORE, SAVANNAH, BECAUSE I
FEEL LIKE WE DO THIS LIVE SHOT
WITH YOU EVERY FEW MONTHS.
THAT’S BECAUSE WE DO. THIS IS
THE WAY THAT LAWMAKERS
CONTINUOUSLY KICK THE CAN DOWN
THE ROAD WITH GOVERNMENT
FUNDING. NOW, WE DO EXPECT THEM
TO KEEP THE LIGHTS ON. THERE’S
NOT GOING TO BE SOME KIND OF
HOLIDAY SHUTDOWN, BUT THEY ARE
CUTTING IT REALLY CLOSE. THAT’S
BECAUSE WE EXPECTED TO SEE THE
TEXT OF THIS CONTINUING
RESOLUTION, THE BILL THAT KEEPS
THE LIGHTS ON OVER THE WEEKEND,
MAYBE LATE ON SUNDAY NIGHT. NOW
HERE WE ARE ON TUESDAY MORNING.
LAWMAKERS ARE STARTING TO TAP
THEIR FOOT, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE
ON THE HOUSE SIDE, THERE’S A 72
HOUR RULE, MEANING THAT THERE’S
72 HOURS THAT MEMBERS WANT TO
ELAPSE BETWEEN THE TIME THAT
THEY GET THE BILL TEXT AND THE
TIME THAT THEY VOTE ON IT. THAT
MEANS THAT THURSDAY, EVEN
FRIDAY, DEPENDING ON WHEN THEY
RELEASE THIS TEXT, IS WHEN THE
HOUSE DOES THEIR VOTE AND THEN
THE SENATE HAS TO VOTE AFTER. SO
IT’S A CLUNKY PROCESS, AND
THEY’RE STARTING IT A LITTLE BIT
LATE. AT THE SAME TIME, THERE’S
WAYS TO CIRCUMVENT THAT 72 HOUR
RULE. THERE’S ALSO WAYS TO SPEED
THE PROCESS UP, ESPECIALLY ON
THE SENATE SIDE. HOPE IS FAR
FROM LOST. BUT THEY ARE CUTTING
IT REALLY CLOSE. THE SPEAKER
SAID YESTERDAY HE EXPECTS BILL
TEXT SOON. THAT WORD SOON IS
DOING A LOT OF WORK HERE, BUT WE
DO EXPECT IT IMMINENTLY. I’LL
USE ANOTHER ONE.
>> YEAH. WALK US THROUGH THE
CHALLENGES, THOUGH, ALI, THAT
LAWMAKERS FACE WHILE TRYING TO
AVERT A PARTIAL GOVERNMENT
SHUTDOWN, BECAUSE, OF COURSE,
WE’RE KIND OF IN THIS LAME DUCK
SESSION OF CONGRESS. HOW DO WE
MOVE FORWARD FROM HERE?
>> YEAH, YOU’RE IN THE LAME DUCK
CONGRESS. BUT AT THE SAME TIME,
PEOPLE KNOW THAT REPUBLICANS
HAVE THE MAJORITY IN THE HOUSE.
THEY KNOW THEY’RE GOING TO HAVE
THE MAJORITY IN THE SENATE. BUT
THEY ALSO KNOW THAT THE HOUSE
MAJORITY IS VERY, VERY THIN.
THAT’S THE ONE THING THAT’S NOT
GOING TO BE DIFFERENT FROM THIS
CONGRESS TO THE NEXT ONE. AND SO
EVEN IN PASSING THIS GOVERNMENT
FUNDING BILL, THERE ARE THINGS
THAT DEMOCRATS WANTED TO SEE IN
IT, BECAUSE JOHNSON, THE SPEAKER
OF THE HOUSE, KNOWS THAT HE’S
GOING TO NEED DEMOCRATS TO PASS
THIS BILL. THE PEOPLE THAT THE
SPEAKER OFTEN HEARS FROM ON HIS
SIDE OF THE AISLE ARE THE HOUSE
FREEDOM CAUCUS. THEY WERE UPSET,
FOR EXAMPLE, ABOUT THE FACT THAT
THERE WAS GOING TO BE TOO MUCH
EMERGENCY RELIEF, TOO MUCH
DISASTER RELIEF FOR PLACES LIKE
NORTH CAROLINA, GEORGIA, FLORIDA
WHO HAD JUST GONE THROUGH THOSE
TWO HURRICANES JUST A FEW WEEKS
AGO. THAT WAS ONE OF THE
STICKING POINTS. ANOTHER IS THE
WAY THAT FARMERS ARE TREATED
DURING THIS PROCESS, EXTENDING
SOMETHING CALLED THE FARM BILL.
ALL OF THOSE ARE PART AND PARCEL
TO THIS PROCESS, BUT THE PEOPLE
JOHNSON HEARS FROM THE MOST ARE
ALSO THE PEOPLE THAT ALWAYS VOTE
AGAINST GOVERNMENT FUNDING
RESOLUTIONS. SO HE KNOWS HE’S
GOING TO HAVE TO LOOK ACROSS THE
AISLE. DEMOCRATS ARE GOING TO BE
KEY TO PASSING THIS. I EXPECT TO
SEE THEM VOTE MORE THAN 100 OF
THEM ON THIS CONTINUING
RESOLUTION, KEEPING THE
GOVERNMENT OPEN, KEEPING THE
LIGHTS ON IS USUALLY JUST GOOD
POLITICS. THAT DOESN’T ALWAYS
MEAN THAT EVERYONE GOES ALONG
WITH IT, BUT THIS IS USUALLY A
BIPARTISAN VOTE. THAT’S WHAT
WE’RE GOING TO EXPECT TO SEE
HERE, BECAUSE AS MUCH AS THERE
ARE THE LAME DUCK VIBES, AT THE
SAME TIME, EVERYONE KNOWS
KEEPING THE GOVERNMENT OPEN IS
JUST GOOD TO GET US INTO THE
NEXT YEAR WHERE EVERYONE KNOWS
WHAT’S ABOUT TO HAPPEN.
REPUBLICANS CONTROLLING CONGRESS
AND REPUBLICANS CONTROLLING THE
OTHER SIDE OF PENNSYLVANIA
AVENUE WITH PRESIDENT ELECT
DONALD TRUMP.
>> SO, ALI, REMIND US WHAT
HAPPENS IF A DEAL IS NOT AGREED
TO BEFORE THE FRIDAY NIGHT
DEADLINE.
>> LOOK, WE WILL THEN START
SEEING VARIOUS PARTS OF THE
GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN. WE WILL
SEE THE GUIDANCE ISSUED FROM THE
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET.
EVERYONE ALWAYS PREPARES FOR
THAT, BUT IT’S ALWAYS SORT OF A
FIRE DRILL. THE OMB ALERTS
CONGRESS. IT ALERTS VARIOUS
AGENCIES WHETHER OR NOT PARKS
ARE GOING TO BE SHUT DOWN. OTHER
VARIOUS THINGS THAT WE OFTEN
COVER IN THE EVENT OF A PARTIAL
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN. WE DON’T
EXPECT IT TO GET HERE AGAIN, BUT
LET’S SAY IT DRAGS OVER INTO THE
WEEKEND. OR LET’S SAY THEY MISS
THAT FRIDAY MIDNIGHT DEADLINE BY
JUST A FEW HOURS BECAUSE OF THE
WAY THAT IT TAKES TO VOTE FOR
THINGS. IT’S SORT OF BAKED INTO
THE PROCESS. A WEEKEND
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN OFTEN
DOESN’T REALLY HAVE MUCH IMPACT
AT ALL, BECAUSE IT’S SORT OF A
FAKE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN. IT’S
THE WAY THAT THE GOVERNMENT
ALLOWS CONGRESS A LITTLE BIT OF
LEEWAY, TIME TO TINKER AROUND
THE EDGES. SO IF THEY’RE A
LITTLE BIT LATE, IF FOR SOME
REASON WE SEE THIS DRAG INTO
LATE FRIDAY NIGHT OR EVEN
SATURDAY, NOT A HUGE DEAL
TECHNICALLY MIGHT BE A
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, BUT
WOULDN’T ACTUALLY BE SOME KIND
OF CATASTROPHIC OR NEGATIVE
THING THAT’S BAKED INTO THE
PROCESS. AGAIN, WE DON’T EXPECT
IT’S GOING TO GET THERE JUST IN