Any fight over money to pay for President Donald Trump’s border wall will be pushed back until later this year, as House Republicans plan to pass a three-month continuing resolution to fund the government this month, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told Fox Business on Tuesday.
"We've got a lot of busy things happening here," McCarthy said. "We have to deal with Harvey, we have the debt ceiling, we have a continuing resolution, which will be just about a three-month continuing resolution. So you will deal with the wall a little later in the year."
The temporary spending bill is necessary to avoid a government shutdown on Sept. 30, and congressmen hope the three-month time period will give the parties the opportunity to agree on a broader spending bill.
Before Hurricane Harvey hit, Trump had threatened to shut down the government if any spending legislation did not include funding for the wall.
McCarthy said the first order of business will be on Wednesday, when the House will vote on an almost $8 billion emergency disaster relief bill for communities devastated by Harvey, McCarthy said.
However, McCarthy said the Harvey aid will not be tied to raising the federal debt ceiling, an idea strongly opposed by conservative Republican congressmen. The debt limit must be raised by Sept. 29.
The House majority leader also said that, despite the busy schedule, the GOP still intends to pass a budget this month, because "it allows us to go to reconciliation to start tax reform."
Moving the bill through budget reconciliation is vital for Republicans, because it would prevent Senate Democrats from blocking legislation through the filibuster.
McCarthy reiterated that "Now all that will get done this month, but for those members who get afraid and don't want to tackle the tough issues, I say, the sooner we do it, the stronger we are and the more that we can get done moving forward and get to greater growth."
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