Leaving a more than two-hour contentious GOP conference meeting, Speaker Kevin McCarthy is now floating a two-week, clean short-term funding bill with no attachments.
“I think if we had a clean one [CR] without Ukraine on it, we could probably be able to move that through. I think if the Senate puts Ukraine on there and focuses Ukraine over America, I think I think that could cause real problems,” McCarthy said Friday.
McCarthy said “I think we can solve that” if the Senate sends a clean short-term measure with no Ukraine aid or any other attachments.
This is a significant change in position from McCarthy on the eve of a potential government shutdown.
“If they produce a clean ability to keep the government open while we finish our work and have gotten to our [appropriations] bills. I think we can solve that,” he said.
McCarthy said if the Senate sends over its current proposal, then “it’s probably leading to a shutdown.”
The speaker claims he proposed to put a clean short-term funding bill on the floor but said “Democrats won’t vote for it.”
“So that would be a shutdown,” he said.
McCarthy acknowledged “there are no winners in a government” but the conference is continuing to “work through trying to find a way out of this.”
“I think it’s productive that we keep the house open while we finish our work,” he added.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
