Poll: More Americans would blame Republicans for government shutdown

A new Monmouth University poll found that a plurality of Americans, 43%,  would blame congressional Republicans if there’s a government shutdown. Additionally the poll found that 27% would blame President Biden while 21% would blame congressional Democrats. 

Respondents said they want Congress members to compromise in order to avoid a shutdown rather than stick to their principles — even if that leads to a shutdown. Those calling for compromise include 64% of all Americans, including 50% of Republicans, 63% of Independents and 76% of Democrats.  

Conservative House Republicans have said they aren’t afraid of a shutdown. 

“At the end of the day, leadership procrastinated and created a mess. Now we got to find our way through it,” Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., said. “And if that means staying a couple extra weeks with the shutdown, that’s fine.”

House Republicans have said for months that they would rather have the government shutdown than pass a bill that doesn’t align with their values and reduce spending. 

“We should not fear a government shutdown. Most of what we do up here is bad anyway,” Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., said in July.

Senate Republicans joined with the chamber’s Democrats on a continuing resolution that would keep spending at its current levels until Nov. 17. It would also provide $6 billion for disaster relief and $6 billion for Ukraine, but that is not expected to pass the House. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., thinks a shutdown is a mistake. 

“The choice facing Congress is pretty straightforward. We can take the standard approach and fund the government for six weeks at the current rate of operations… or we can shut the government down in exchange for zero meaningful progress on policy,” McConnell said during a speech on the Senate floor. 

Congress must pass 12 appropriations bills to fully fund the government for fiscal year 2024, but it doesn’t have the time to do that. So the question is, will Congress approve a continuing resolution to keep the government open while passing those bills, or will the government shut down until it passes them?