Building 100,000 miles of new infrastructure to reach those who need it most. Announcer Charter Communications supports cspan as a pubc service along with his other providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. Announr coming up on washington journal, your calls and comments live. We will talk about the september 30 government funding deadline. And then demoat congressman earl blunar and Freedom Caucusemr Matt Rosendale. Washington journal starts now. Host good morning on this thursday, september 21. We are 10 days out from a Government Shutdown. Speaker mccarthy says he has made progress with the gop holdouts to fund the government and avoid that shutdown. We will get your take on the latest proposal from the republicans and the looming deadlines. Democrats dial in at 202 7488000, republicans at 202 7488001, and independents at 202 7488002. Text us including your first name, city, and state, at 202 7488003. The same line for federal workers this morning. You can join us on facebook. Com cspan or post on x with the handle cspanwj. Lets look at the latest proposal put out by house leadership in hopes of garnering more support from his own party. This is what he proposed to conservatives last night behind closed doors. It would set t crent government funding level at 1. 47 trilln while they work out a rg deal. Ithes the Border Security legislation tohis stopgap measure. It sets spending levels at 2. 56 trillion, which was below what was agreed on. And it would also set up a commission to address the u. S. National debt. Now, last night matt gaetz, who is one of those socalled holdouts, a conservative member from florida, tweeted out a statement from the former president. Matt gaetz says, trump opposes this continuing resolution. Hold the line, he says. Here is what the former president wrote. An important deadline is approaching. Congress can and must defund all aspects of joe bidens weaponized government that refuses to close the border and treats half the country as enemies of the state. It is the last time to defund those against me and other patriots. Use the power of the purse and defend the country. That is the former president s message to his republican colleagues in the house. Cnn caught up with matt gaetz and another conservative, chip roy, republican of texas and part of the Freedom Caucus, and he has been negotiating with moderate republicans. You will first hear from chip roy about the conservatives who are against this latest proposal, and what he thinks about republicans working with democrats to keep the government open. Following those comments is matt gaetz. [video clip] with all due respect, let them explain why they do not support that. It is inexplicable. I think it is indefensible. Now we have got to try to figure out how to move the ball forward but we had agreement in good faith. What the speakers job be in peril if he did not rely on democrats . I would call the capital moving truck to his office pretty soon because my expectation would be that he would be at the Speakers Office promptly. Host cnn reporting. Joining us this morning is Mychael Schnell. How gop reports progress in spending talks as some holdouts relent. Who are these holdouts that have relented and who has not . Guest there is the unlocking of a pentagon appropriations bill, some holdouts have relented letting them move forward, and then we have the continuing resolution deal. If we talk about the pentagon appropriations bill, hardline conservatives voted against a procedural vote to advance this appropriations bill essentially over demands for deeper spending, plus, they wanted to know the top line figures for the fall appropriations bill. And because the house was not moving ahead swiftly with considering all 12 of these bills. But just yesterday after that closed door meeting which lasted over two hours, which is a long gathering two of those conservatives said they would relent on that hesitation. They will allow the vote to go ahead and this is because of the commitments Speaker Mccarthy made in this continuing resolution plan. Just a button up the situation, the house is scheduled to take up that rule today for the appropriations bill. It is expected to go through whether the legislation will have the votes. But the fact they will advance this piece of legislation is a win for Kevin Mccarthy. Now you get to this proposal which would be a continuing resolution through october 31 with funding back to fiscal year 2022 levels. That is something conservatives had been asking for. It would give commitments that the 12 Appropriations Bills would be considered at 1. 5 trillion and would include that commission on studying the federal debt and deficit. Also, it includes parts of the house gops border bill, minus a controversial provision. Emerging from this closed door meeting a number of republicans said they were supportive, including two holdouts that said they were against the initial resolution. That is ralph norman from South Carolina and bob good. They said they would vote for this continuing resolution proposal, but Kevin Mccarthy is not out of the woods yet. There are three conservative republicans who emerged from that meeting saying they would not support this continuing resolution and we heard from congressman matt gaetz and tim burchett who said they know of seven lawmakers including them you will never vote for a continuing resolution. It was successful for him because he was able to unlock that pentagon appropriations bill and flip some holdouts. But whether or not he is victorious, we have got to figure that out. Host how does the statement by the former president factor in . Guest it is not going to help. Former President Trump is a very popular figure within the Republican Party, especially the house gop conference. A number of republicans have endorsed him indictment after indictment after indictment. Him asking that he wants funding measures to defund the department of justice, which is currently investigating him, is undoubtably going to place pressure on these conservative republicans. Whether or not it will lead to their opposition, we will have to figure that out. That was a late Night Development last night. But it is undoubtably going to be a question we ask today and the days to come. When you talk about the influence former President Trump has on republicans in the house, it could affect funding talks. Host you heard, and our viewers heard, from chip roy and matt gaetz saying if the speaker were to move to put a socalled clean resolution on the floor that it would be a bad move and they would try to oust him from his position. Where are democrats on passing a clean cr and if there is a vote to remove Kevin Mccarthy, with a vote in favor . Guest the first question is easy. House democrats want a clean resolution. They want to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government for x amount of days. And they also want to tack on the 40 billion request the white house unveiled which includes money for ukraine and disaster relief. That is what democrats have wanted from the getgo. They are not going to get that because you have to compromise with republicans, but that is where democrats stand. Your other question is fascinating and more difficult. If a vote on ousting Kevin Mccarthy were brought to the floor, how would democrats act . I published a piece on that this week. I asked House Democrats how they would go forward. They said there is not a plan in place yet. Top lawmakers brushed aside the question as premature, a hypothetical, saying they are focused on funding the government. Of course, september 30 is approaching. But after President Biden and Speaker Mccarthy cut a deal to raise the debt limit, House Democrats thought they would save Kevin Mccarthy. The speaker did well by them. They cut a deal with the president , something that received bipartisan support in the house, so they were feeling good. But then came the house led committees marking up the appropriations bill at lower caps, which soured democrats thoughts. But Kevin Mccarthy opening an impeachment inquiry into President Biden last week a number of democrats said after the debt limit they were thinking about considering saving him. Now that is an open question. Some of them did not want to do that. I spoke to Eric Swalwell who said he would oust mccarthy. Here is the wildcard. Some democrats said they would potentially save mccarthy, but at a price. I spoke to congresswoman aoc and she said there would be a price to pay. Could we see negotiation . It is a possibility. At the end of the day what democrats do is going to be significant. They are split on Kevin Mccarthy. Some want to get rid of him but he has a lot of support among leadership and rank and file members. The one that can be a difference maker and determine his fate are democrats. They would likely vote during a block. They have enough votes to determine his fate. It is something worth keeping an eye on. Host Mychael Schnell, coming up, we talk with Matt Rosendale. Tell our viewers why they should listen to him. Guest he is one to watch in this fight. I was not able to catch up with them after yesterday but he says he is a no cr. He could be part of the seven matt gaetz talked about. He was also one of the House Republicans during that drawnout speakers race in january that never supported Kevin Mccarthy. There is no love lost between them and it would not be surprising if rosendale does not cave to mccarthy and does not support the continuing resolution. Each one of these lawmakers really matters at the end of the day because House Republicans have a slim majority. They can only lose a handful of votes, but especially when you have one that is so critical and polarizing, each will be important to watch. Host Mychael Schnell was up on capitol hill well into the evening last night and then back here to help us understand this evolving story. You can follow her reporting if you go to thehill. Com or on x thehill. Guest thank you for having me. Host joe in new jersey, an independent. What do you make of this happening on capitol hill . Caller all i got to say is they keep talking about republicans. What are the democrats ready to do . You hear a little of this and a little of that. Host republicans are in control. They control what comes to the floor. Guest sure, but than the democrats say no and then they should put something forward but they dont. They leave it up to the republicans. Host because they are in control of the house. They control what comes to the floor. Democrats dont. You just heard from Mychael Schnell that republicans do not have the votes within their own party for a continuing resolution. Jim in highland park, new jersey, 10 days until shutdown. Caller i agree with what you said. The republicans are in control of the legislation that comes before congress. Consequently, the ball is in their court. Excuse me, it is early in the morning. [laughter] host it is. We understand. Caller the ball is in their court and it is up to them to bring into the floor. Host got it. Patty murray, chair of the Appropriations Committee in the senate, democrat of washington state, on the floor yesterday expressing her disappointment that consideration of the package of bills was stymied in that chamber. They are having their own holdouts in the senate. They wanted to package three Appropriations Bills into one mini omnibus and pass that on the floor, but that was objected to. [video clip] as my colleagues know, i am not going to give up here. I am going to keep pushing with everything i got to pass the spending bill and get our community the resources they need. But i do have to say that i am deeply disappointed. I am not new to politics. I am not new to tough votes or setbacks. I know this work is never easy but it is unfortunate this overwhelming bipartisan process and this package of bills that passed unanimously has been stymied by the objections of just a few senators. That is upsetting and pretty hard to square with the talks we hear about wanting to Work Together, wanting to break the pattern of partisanship, wanting to help people, wanting to solve problems, to say nothing of how our loudest complainers talking big about their commitment to return to regular ardor, who have been railing against these bills at the end of the year led the effort to halt our best shot at getting closer to regular order. And possibly setting us on a collision course for another massive omnibus. Host the chair of the Appropriations Committee, patty murray on the floor yesterday. Her committee has passed all 12 Appropriations Bills. They call it a bipartisan effort in that chamber. When they tried to bring three to the floor in a package, that was objected to. There are obstacles in the Upper Chamber as well as the Lower Chamber in the house where republicans control that body of congress. And republicans have yet, it appears, to get the votes they need within their own party to pass a continuing resolution with cuts in spending and the Border Security provision. It is a moving story this morning. We want to give you the opportunity to tell washington what you want them to do. Eddie in massachusetts, republican. Hi, eddie. Caller how are you . You said it will cost them but is it true . The deficit would be 2 trillion . She is an economic major. We cannot sustain that. It is going to cost hundreds of billions of dollars in interest payments. Host 10 days until a Government Shutdown. Democrats dial in at 202 7488000, republicans at 202 7488001, independents at 202 7488002. Federal workers, if you are going to be impacted or not, call in at 202 7488003. That same line, 202 7488003, can be used by all of you to text us your thoughts on this debate happening in washington. Include your first name, city, and state. You can also go to facebook. Com cspan or post on x cspanwj. This is a post on x. They have had how long to work this out and now we are in crisis mode. Can you impeach representatives . Lisa, democratic caller, what do you think . Caller i want to call in to respond to the guy that just talked a few minutes ago. Called in on the independent line. As soon as you open your mouth, we know who you are, you are a donald trump supporter. Unfortunately, probably listens to fox news where you are not getting the truth of what is going on. As soon as you open your mouth, that is clearly known you do not know what is going on. This is something the republicans do. They always create a circus and their supporters are in with what they are doing. It is unfortunate the American People have to suffer these shutdowns when they are in control. This is what they do. But when you call in and you think host we already heard that point. David in auburn, new york. Caller good morning. I have to make an observation. When they have a shutdown they do not pull the plug on everything. They shut down unnecessary parts of the government. So, if that is what happens, why are there unnecessary parts of the government . If it comes to a shutdown and they have to decide what not to fund, that would be interesting. We will find out what is necessary and what is not. Host david is referring to what they deem as essential, the essential parts of the government that would stay open. This is from the wall street journal. Long lines at airports, delayed food safety inspections, halted infrastructure projects, military personnel working without pay, fbi investigations shut down. These are some of the potential consequences if the government partially shuts down next month. Republicans weighed in on wednesday for the first time wednesday and Pete Buttigieg was in the Committee Room for about six hours on capitol hill. Abc news with the post on x telling lawmakers a Government Shutdown would come at exactly the wrong moment as they address the ongoing Traffic Controller issue. Those are some of the potential possibilities of a Government Shutdown in 10 days. That is the deadline. September 30 by midnight this Congress Needs to have a spending proposal in place. That is a shortterm measure for 30 days that would give them another month to negotiate on a larger bill to fund the government in 2024. We are getting your thoughts this morning. Dial in. Democrats 202 7488000, republicans 202 7488001, independents 202 7488002. Federal workers who would be furloughed, dial in at 202 7488003. Over in the Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer put this out in a post on x. We have members on the maga hard right bragging they want a shutdown. That would be disastrous, unnecessary, and avoidable. This has been the problem with extremism from the start. They hate governing. Chaos is the only word in their playbook. Republican