.@SpeakerRyan: “The reason this government funding bill is not ready is because Democrats have been dragging their feet.” pic.twitter.com/oxl5qAfLf1
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 27, 2017
Speaking at his weekly press conference, Rep. Paul Ryan said he did not think the government would shut down, and a new spending bill would be agreed upon. However, while Ryan said that a new healthcare overhaul is in the works and there was no vote scheduled, Democrats are threatening to oppose any continuing resolutions if a healthcare vote happens between now and Saturday. Buckle up.
(President Trump has already blamed Democrats in advance for this shutdown, if it happens.)
The threat of a government shutdown seemed to be averted earlier this week after President Trump dropped border wall funding as a prerequisite of the new spending bill and continued paying Obamacare subsidies, but The House Rules Committee passed a new rule allowing them to bring up new legislation or votes before Saturday. In response, Steny Hoyer, the number two Democrat in the House, said he’d oppose and tell other House Democrats to oppose a continuing resolution that would push the spending bill deadline to May 5th, setting the table for some classic partisan brinksmanship.
As with most public appearances by members of the administration and those aligned closely with it, Ryan took some time out of his press conference to also mention how much red tape had been cut in the first 100 days of the presidency.
This has been an incredibly active first 100 days. We have already saved families and businesses more than $67 billion. pic.twitter.com/4p2oFHUNk6
— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) April 27, 2017
“Incredibly active?” You said it, buddy.