McConnell Warns: ‘Politically Beyond Stupid’ To Allow Shutdown Before Election

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said on Tuesday that it would be “politically beyond stupid” if a government shutdown is allowed to happen before the 2024 election, suggesting that Republicans would suffer more than Democrats when voters head to the polls.

With a deadline coming up at the end of the month, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) appear to be at odds on what form a continuing resolution (CR) takes, but McConnell refused to make a stand when pressed by a reporter.

.@LeaderMcConnell: "The one you cannot have is a government shutdown. It would be politically beyond stupid for us to do that right before the election because certainly we'd get the blame." pic.twitter.com/Al0yD8ztLM

— CSPAN (@cspan) September 17, 2024

“My only observation about this whole discussion is the one thing you cannot have is a government shutdown,” McConnell said at the U.S. Capitol. “It would be politically beyond stupid for us to do that right before the election, because certainly we’d get the blame.”

Democrats narrowly control the Senate while Republicans have a small House majority. Either side could emerge from the November election with voters giving them command of one, both, or none of the chambers of Congress. A shutdown could quickly become a new political cudgel.

“We’ve been here before,” McConnell went on to say. “I’m for whatever avoids a government shutdown, and that’ll ultimately end up obviously being a discussion between the Democratic leader and the speaker of the House as to how to process avoiding government shutdown.”

Johnson said earlier the House would proceed with a vote on Wednesday for a six-month CR plus the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which includes reforms meant to help prevent non-citizens from voting in federal elections. It’s not clear whether the measure will pass.

President Joe Biden already threatened to veto the proposal while former President Donald Trump, who is again the GOP presidential nominee, has urged Republicans to allow a shutdown if they cannot secure a short-term spending measure in addition to “election security” reforms.

Schumer warned Johnson against proceeding with a six-month CR, suggesting that “critical programs” such as the military would suffer under such a lengthy funding patch, and suggested the plan to include the SAVE Act with a stopgap measure would make it “too unworkable.”