House Republicans cancel vote on short-term funding measure amid infighting – as it happened

With the US government 12 days away from shutting down, House Republicans were plagued by infighting between Kevin McCarthy and a handful of far-right lawmakers who refuse to approve a measure to keep the government open through October. In a sign of how bad the split has become, a procedural vote on the short-term funding bill expected to happen today was cancelled, and an attempt to advance a Pentagon spending bill was voted down, thanks to rightwing Republicans. But even if the House does get its ducks in a row, Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said the short-term measure they would have voted on will not pass the chamber. It’s clear there’s lot of negotiating remaining if a government shutdown is to be avoided.

Here’s what else happened today:

• House Republicans will hold the first hearing of their impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden next week.

• Mitch McConnell, the top Senate Republican, warned that the GOP may be blamed if the government shuts down.

• A Trump supporter at the center of conspiracy theories over January 6 has now been charged for his actions during the insurrection.

• Biden addressed the United Nations general assembly in New York City, and we have a live blog covering the day’s events.

• Jimmy Carter’s one-term presidency may have been on Biden’s mind as he pursued a deal with Iran that led to the release of seven Americans yesterday.

As Politico reports, House Republicans aligned with Kevin McCarthy, which is most of them, had hoped that teeing up a vote on the defense spending measure would break the logjam with rightwing legislators who are holding up business in the chamber.

But it didn’t work. The five GOP “no” votes, together with the Democrats’ refusal to vote for legislation they oppose, doomed the effort to begin debate on the bill:

Punchbowl News reports that Republican lawmaker Mike Garcia accused the five Republicans who voted the rule down of, essentially, aiding the enemy:

In a sign of how bad things have become in the House, Republican leaders just held a crucial vote to advance a Pentagon spending bill, but failed to win enough support for its passage after Democrats and a handful of GOP lawmakers opposed it.

Representatives were voting on a rule to begin debate on the bill, but that failed to pass after Democrats – who appear perfectly happy watching the GOP’s slim majority slide into dysfunction – voted against it, as did a handful of Republicans.

As it became clear that GOP leadership would not be getting its way today, sarcastic Democrats took to shouting “order!” in the chamber, as you can see from the clip below:

There’s a new twist in the story of Ray Epps, a Donald Trump supporter who was present on January 6 and later found himself the subject of rightwing conspiracy theories that baselessly alleged he was an agent provocateur. As the Guardian’s Martin Pengelly reports, he himself is now in trouble with federal prosecutors:

Ray Epps – a Donald Trump supporter, Oath Keepers militia member and January 6 participant who became the subject of rightwing conspiracy theories about the attack on Congress – has been charged with one criminal count related to the riot.

In a court filing in US district court in Washington DC, dated Monday, federal prosecutors charged Epps with disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds.

The charge can carry a sentence of up to 10 years.

A former US marine from Arizona, Epps went to Washington in January 2021 to join protesters seeking to block Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in the presidential election the previous November.

On the night of 5 January, he was filmed in downtown Washington, telling other Trump supporters: “Tomorrow, we need to go into the Capitol … peacefully.”

The next day, as Trump told supporters to “fight like hell” in his cause, the Capitol came under attack. The attack failed and Trump’s defeat was confirmed. Nine deaths have now been linked to the riot.

The notion that Epps was a federal agent, acting as a provocateur, took root early. On the night of 5 January, some around him chanted: “Fed! Fed! Fed! Fed!” In footage of the attack, after a Capitol police officer went down, Epps was seen pulling a rioter aside.

Rightwing media, prominently including the then Fox News prime-time host Tucker Carlson, eagerly took up the theory that Epps was linked to federal agents.

The US Capitol Police has canceled the security alert it issued following the discovery of a suspicious vehicle and package near its headquarters:

The Senate’s top Republican Mitch McConnell warned against shutting down the government and said voters would likely blame the GOP if the federal government runs out of money at the start of October, according to reporters at the Capitol:

With the Republican-controlled House oversight committee set to hold its first impeachment hearing of Joe Biden next week, the White House has hit back with a statement condemning the panel as a “political stunt” and calling on Republicans to instead focus on avoiding a government shutdown.

“Extreme House Republicans are already telegraphing their plans to try to distract from their own chaotic inability to govern and the impacts of it on the country,” the White House’s spokesperson for oversight and investigations Ian Sams said. “Staging a political stunt hearing in the waning days before they may shut down the government reveals their true priorities: to them, baseless personal attacks on President Biden are more important than preventing a government shutdown and the pain it would inflict on American families.”

Sams continued:

The President has been very clear: he is going to remain focused on the issues that matter to the American people, including preventing the devastating and harmful cuts proposed by House Republicans that are hurtling us toward a government shutdown. House Republicans should drop these silly political Washington games and actually do their job to prevent a government shutdown.

In a press conference, chair of the House Democratic caucus Pete Aguilar signaled that the party’s lawmakers were in a wait-and-see mode as the GOP squabbles among themselves ahead of an end-of-the-month government shutdown deadline:

Far-right Republicans have been pushing for amendments on the continuing resolution that would prevent funds from being used for Ukraine aid and other initiatives.

Here are some of the amendments being requested from Marjorie Taylor Greene, from Punchbowl News’ Mica Soellner:

There doesn’t seem to be much progress on the House GOP resolution, with Republicans still working to clear a path to get the resolution passed.

Florida representative Matt Gaetz told reporters this afternoon that “no” progress was being made on getting the resolution passed.

From Politico’s Jordain Carney:

Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene also said House GOP were “nowhere near” getting the legislation passed.

From Punchbowl News’ Mica Soellner:

The United States Capitol Police Headquarters was evacuated today over a suspicious package and vehicle found nearby the premises.

Many busy roads near the vehicle have also been temporary closed while police investigate.

A date has been set for the first hearing of the inquiry into impeaching Joe Biden, with a government shut down looming.

The first hearing will be on 28 September, the Associated Press reported.

It will focus on “constitutional and legal questions” around Biden’s involvement in Hunter Biden’s international businesses, a House Oversight Committee spokesperson told AP.

House GOP members have insisted that Biden’s conduct as vice president point to a culture of corruption.”

With the US government 12 days away from shutting down, House Republicans are plagued by infighting between Kevin McCarthy and a handful of far-right lawmakers who refuse to approve a measure to keep the government open through October. In a sign of how bad the split has become, a procedural vote on the short-term funding bill expected to happen today has been cancelled. But even if the House does get its ducks in a row, Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said the measure they would have voted on will not pass the Senate. It’s clear there’s lot of negotiating remaining if a government shutdown is to be avoided.

Here’s what else has happened today:

• House Republicans will hold the first hearing of their impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden next week.

• Biden addressed the United Nations general assembly in New York City, and we have a live blog covering the day’s events.

• Jimmy Carter’s one-term presidency may have been on Biden’s mind as he pursued a deal with Iran that led to the release of seven Americans yesterday.