“Just 20 days until the new House Republican majority …” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy declared on former President Trump’s Truth Social media platform Wednesday morning, hours after Senate GOP leadership announced that congressional negotiators were near an agreement to fund the federal government with a massive year-end spending bill.
The news was a punch in the gut for Mr. McCarthy, the California Republican trying to line up wayward conservatives in his conference who refuse to support his quest for the speakership. Mr. McCarthy is also attempting to convince Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to support government funding into January so they can leverage their new majority in the House on the spending bill.