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The U.S. just instantly shut down multiple entries from the Canadian border. Very easy to do. No great effort was required.Source: https://nbcnews.com/news/us-news/rainbow-bridge-niagara-falls-closed-explosion-vehicle-reportedly-enter-rcna126397I wonder why they never do that with the Mexican border.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said on Sunday that Republicans have no choice but to back the short-term funding proposal. In an interview on CBS News’s “Face the Nation,” McCaul stressed the importance of passing aid for our foreign allies, which will not be feasible if the government shuts down. “We’re gonna have to. I mean, there’s no choice here,” McCaul said when asked whether Republicans can pass the continuing resolution (CR) proposal that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) unveiled Saturday.

This week, Republicans and Democrats got together to avert a government shutdown. Too bad. There’s so much that ought to be shut down. Useless Cabinet departments, for example, like Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and Agriculture. Agriculture employs almost 100,000 people. Why? Independent farmers grow our food. They don’t need a giant department. Let’s get rid of the Department of Education, too. Why does it even exist? Education is a local responsibility and none of the federal government’s business. Yet its spending is up 300% over the past 10 years. The department didn’t even exist before 1979. Has education improved...

On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Source,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) responded to a question on whether he’d hold up a bill to prevent a government shutdown if it doesn’t have Ukraine funding by stating that “we’re going to do whatever we have to do to fight to make sure Ukraine funding happens and it happens in a way that gives them the unbroken resources that they need to continue to repel this Russian invasion.” Host Kaitlan Collins asked, “Are you willing to hold up any bill that comes to the Senate without that funding for Ukraine in it?”

Progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has leapt to the defense of fellow New York representative Jamaal Bowman as he faces criticism for pulling a fire alarm in the Capitol on Saturday. AOC told CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday that Bowman's actions occurred in a 'moment of panic,' exacerbated by the pressure and chaos of attempting to avert a government shutdown - which Congress successfully did late on Saturday. 'I think there's something to be said that the government's about to shut down, there's a vote clock that's going down, the exits that are normally open in that building were suddenly closed,'...

President Biden on Sunday expressed exasperation with Republicans in Congress after lawmakers narrowly averted a government shutdown and said he hoped the drama of the last few weeks has led Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to a “personal revelation.” “Folks, the truth is we shouldn’t have gotten here in the first place. It’s time to end governing by crisis and keep your word when you give it in the Congress,” Biden said at the White House after signing a temporary government funding bill late Saturday.

Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the last-minute deal to avoid a government shutdown was a win for Democrats and a “defeat” for MAGA. Anchor Jake Tapper said, “House Democrats are going to seek your advice regarding this news made moments ago on the show about this pending motion to vacate Kevin McCarthy’s speakership. How will you vote, and what advice would you give your fellow Democrats on whether they can trust Kevin McCarthy if he makes Democrats an offer so he can stay in power?”

Like much of Washington, the Biden White House was caught off guard Saturday morning when House Speaker Kevin McCarthy abruptly reversed course and announced that he would bring a clean bill to fund the government for the next 45 days. But aides weren’t terribly surprised. After all, they had assumed the government shutdown showdown would end this way at some point — with the main question being whether McCarthy would take his lumps before or after the funding deadline.

In a post on X, progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called the bill a “win-win” for allowing federal employees to continue to receive paychecks, and for riling far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who she says “threw a tantrum.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) also celebrated the vote, saying “all extreme right-wing policies have been removed” from it, arguing in a post that “MAGA Republicans have surrendered.”

On the brink of a federal government shutdown, the House on Saturday swiftly approved a 45-day funding bill to keep federal agencies open as Speaker Kevin McCarthy dropped demands for steep spending cuts and relied on Democratic votes for passage to send the package to the Senate. The new approach would leave behind aid to Ukraine, a White House priority opposed by a growing number of GOP lawmakers, but the plan would increase federal disaster assistance by $16 billion, meeting President Joe Biden’s full request. The package was approved 335-91, with most Republicans and almost all Democrats supporting. the bill....

A group of GOP hardliners joined Democrats in sinking House Republicans' stopgap funding bill on Friday, significantly raising the chances of a government shutdown happening over the weekend. A procedural vote to advance the bill passed earlier in the day, but final passage failed on an 198 to 232 vote. Twenty-one Republicans voted against it, including Reps. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Nancy Mace, R-S.C., among others. It's a heavy blow to Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., whose leadership has faced public threats throughout the spending battle so far from some in the right flank of his conference....

All eyes are on Capitol Hill, watching as Congress gets closer and closer to failing to fund the federal government, forcing a shutdown. Shutting down the government could have big reverberations across the country — and significant consequences for the people who live and work and visit the nation's capital. Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia combined have about 400,000 federal workers, plus hundreds of thousands of military service members and government contractors. The region's growth and competitiveness have long been tied to the federal government.

Rep Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) took shots at House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Friday, saying he is leading the country toward a looming government shutdown because he refuses to negotiate with Democrats. GOP infighting has dominated spending talks, as a group of hard-line conservatives fight the speaker — demanding deeper budget cuts than those proposed so far by McCarthy.

The House rejected a short-term spending bill on Friday designed to keep the government open through the September 30 deadline, making a government shutdown almost inevitable. Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) continuing resolution (CR) failed 198-232 despite his inclusion of significant border security measures included to coax skeptical conservatives. Twenty-one Republicans opposed the measure which would have extended government funding for 30 days. McCarthy is expected to meet with his Republican colleagues Friday afternoon to discuss a path forward. Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) alerted colleagues that votes are expected Saturday, a change from the previous schedule.

With little time left to prevent a government shutdown, the House is in a familiar position: effectively paralyzed as conservatives feud with Speaker Kevin McCarthy over matters large and small. McCarthy has pushed the Republican conference to embrace a short-term funding plan that would include a sweeping Republican proposal for the southern border. But a small group of hard-line conservatives has defied the speaker in a quest to get rid of stopgap funding plans, known as continuing resolutions, even if opposing them means forcing a government shutdown. It’s left McCarthy at an impasse. The California congressman will likely be left...

CHICAGO (WLS) -- With a potential federal government shutdown looming, Illinois political leaders and officials are anticipating how local services and programs might be affected. A government shutdown may impact flights from Chicago airports and payment for government employees, including sailors serving at Naval Station Great Lakes. Illinois Congressman Jesus "Chuy" Garcia said a government shutdown would hit the state hard. "It would affect nutrition programs, education programs, our ability to travel through airports," Garcia said. Governor JB Pritzker issued a statement Wednesday saying he is working with Illinois Treasurer Mike Frerichs to reinstate a 100-million dollar zero or low...

With just five days to go until the government shuts down without a spending deal, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is at a crossroads. He can either shut down the government and possibly save his standing with the GOP hardliners threatening to oust him, or work with Democrats to pass a short-term spending bill and avert a government shutdown—potentially at the expense of his own speakership. Caught in the middle of the California Republican's political calculus are including hundreds of thousands of federal workers millions of Americans who would be impacted by even a short government shutdown, and scores of everyday...

The House Wednesday passed an amendment proposed by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene that would slash the salary of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to $1. Republican lawmakers voted to cut Mr. Austin‘s salary from more than $221,000 annually because of their discontent with his job performance.

Former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) criticized Republican lawmakers over their inability to agree on spending bills as the Oct. 1 government shutdown deadline draws closer. “It’s nihilism, is what it is,” Ryan said during an event in Wisconsin. “We look like fools. We look like we can’t govern.” A handful of Republican hard-liners have refused to agree on spending, preventing the chamber from passing a short-term funding measure to avoid a shutdown. Infighting within the House GOP has been happening for weeks, with current Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) unable to make either side happy. On Tuesday night, House Republicans...

With six kids under the age of 15 to support, Stephen Booth, a police officer for the Air Force in Kansas, doesn’t have room in his budget for a missed paycheck. But like millions of other government employees across the country, Booth is bracing for his pay to stop indefinitely at the end of the month as Congress careers toward a government shutdown. House Republicans left Thursday unable to reach a compromise within their ranks over a new budget, including funds for the Defense Department, with a handful of conservative holdouts demanding additional spending cuts. Unless Congress acts, the federal...