By David Morgan and Makini Brice

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government looked all but certain to enter a partial shutdown on Sunday as House Republicans and Senate Democrats held to starkly different courses on funding.

The Democratic-majority Senate planned another procedural vote on a stopgap bill to fund the government through Nov. 17, which has been moving forward with broad bipartisan support, which the Republican-controlled House of Representatives has rejected so far.

House Republican lawmakers on Friday blocked their own party’s stopgap bill, known as a “continuing resolution” or CR. That bill included multiple conservative policy additions that Democrats opposed, and had no chance of winning the Senate support it would need to become law.

Infighting among Republicans who control the House by a 221-212 margin has pushed the United States to the brink of its fourth partial shutdown in a decade, as the chamber has been unable to pass legislation that would keep the government open beyond the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year.

Hundreds of thousands of federal employees will lack the funding to do their jobs if the two chambers do not send a spending bill for Democratic President Joe Biden to sign into law by 12:01 a.m. (0401 GMT) on Sunday.

Federal agencies have already drawn up detailed plans that spell out what services must continue, like airport screening and border patrols, and what must shut down, like scientific research and nutrition aid to 7 million poor mothers.

Most of the government’s 4 million-plus employees would not get paid, whether they were working or not.

House Republicans emerging from a closed-door party meeting on Saturday said they expected to vote for a measures that would ensure that members of the military, border security and the Federal Aviation Administration were paid during the shutdown. Those would only take effect if the Senate passed it and Biden signed it into law.

“We will vote to keep our troops paid and fully operational,” said Representative Darrell Issa.

Some hardline Republicans said a shutdown was worth it to achieve their goals.

“I fear the majority of the conference is willing to do anything to avoid the discomfort of a potential government shutdown,” Representative Bob Good told reporters. “If we don’t have the willingness to say ‘no’ and the resolve to say ‘no,’ the Senate and the White House will not accept any spending cuts.”

CREDIT CONCERNS

The standoff comes just months after Congress brought the federal government to the brink of defaulting on its $31.4 trillion debt. The drama has raised worries on Wall Street, where the Moody’s ratings agency has warned it could damage U.S. creditworthiness.

Congress typically passes stopgap spending bills to buy more time to negotiate the detailed legislation that sets funding for federal programs.

This year, a group of Republicans has blocked action in the House as they have pressed to tighten immigration and cut spending below levels agreed to in the debt-ceiling standoff last spring.

On Friday, 21 Republicans joined with Democrats to defeat legislation that reflected those demands, saying the chamber should focus instead on passing detailed spending bills for the full fiscal year, even if it leads to a shutdown in the near term.

That angered other Republicans, who said they had blown an opportunity to advance conservative policies.

“There’s a lot of frustration growing with the 21 individuals who chose to vote ‘no’ on what was a very good plan,” Republican Representative Nicole Malliotakis of New York said on Friday.

Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Friday the chamber might try to rely on Democrats to help pass a stopgap bill that would continue funding at current levels, even though that could prompt a challenge to his leadership from hardliners.

The Senate is due to hold a procedural vote at 1:00 p.m. (1700 GMT) to extend government funding through Nov. 17. It enjoys wide support from Republicans and Democrats, but the chamber’s arcane rules mean that a vote on final passage could be delayed until Tuesday.

Even if that passes, the two chambers would have to resolve their differences before sending any bill to Biden’s desk. That could pose another hurdle, as McCarthy said he opposed $6 billion in Ukraine aid included in the Senate bill.

“We continue to try to find a way out of this,” he said on Friday.

(Reporting by David Morgan and Makini Brice, Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone and Andrea Ricci)

By David Morgan and Makini Brice

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government looked all but certain to enter a partial shutdown on Sunday as House Republicans and Senate Democrats held to starkly different courses on funding.

The Democratic-majority Senate planned another procedural vote on a stopgap bill to fund the government through Nov. 17, which has been moving forward with broad bipartisan support, which the Republican-controlled House of Representatives has rejected so far.

House Republican lawmakers on Friday blocked their own party’s stopgap bill, known as a “continuing resolution” or CR. That bill included multiple conservative policy additions that Democrats opposed, and had no chance of winning the Senate support it would need to become law.

Infighting among Republicans who control the House by a 221-212 margin has pushed the United States to the brink of its fourth partial shutdown in a decade, as the chamber has been unable to pass legislation that would keep the government open beyond the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year.

Hundreds of thousands of federal employees will lack the funding to do their jobs if the two chambers do not send a spending bill for Democratic President Joe Biden to sign into law by 12:01 a.m. (0401 GMT) on Sunday.

Federal agencies have already drawn up detailed plans that spell out what services must continue, like airport screening and border patrols, and what must shut down, like scientific research and nutrition aid to 7 million poor mothers.

Most of the government’s 4 million-plus employees would not get paid, whether they were working or not.

House Republicans emerging from a closed-door party meeting on Saturday said they expected to vote for a measures that would ensure that members of the military, border security and the Federal Aviation Administration were paid during the shutdown. Those would only take effect if the Senate passed it and Biden signed it into law.

“We will vote to keep our troops paid and fully operational,” said Representative Darrell Issa.

Some hardline Republicans said a shutdown was worth it to achieve their goals.

“I fear the majority of the conference is willing to do anything to avoid the discomfort of a potential government shutdown,” Representative Bob Good told reporters. “If we don’t have the willingness to say ‘no’ and the resolve to say ‘no,’ the Senate and the White House will not accept any spending cuts.”

CREDIT CONCERNS

The standoff comes just months after Congress brought the federal government to the brink of defaulting on its $31.4 trillion debt. The drama has raised worries on Wall Street, where the Moody’s ratings agency has warned it could damage U.S. creditworthiness.

Congress typically passes stopgap spending bills to buy more time to negotiate the detailed legislation that sets funding for federal programs.

This year, a group of Republicans has blocked action in the House as they have pressed to tighten immigration and cut spending below levels agreed to in the debt-ceiling standoff last spring.

On Friday, 21 Republicans joined with Democrats to defeat legislation that reflected those demands, saying the chamber should focus instead on passing detailed spending bills for the full fiscal year, even if it leads to a shutdown in the near term.

That angered other Republicans, who said they had blown an opportunity to advance conservative policies.

“There’s a lot of frustration growing with the 21 individuals who chose to vote ‘no’ on what was a very good plan,” Republican Representative Nicole Malliotakis of New York said on Friday.

Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Friday the chamber might try to rely on Democrats to help pass a stopgap bill that would continue funding at current levels, even though that could prompt a challenge to his leadership from hardliners.

The Senate is due to hold a procedural vote at 1:00 p.m. (1700 GMT) to extend government funding through Nov. 17. It enjoys wide support from Republicans and Democrats, but the chamber’s arcane rules mean that a vote on final passage could be delayed until Tuesday.

Even if that passes, the two chambers would have to resolve their differences before sending any bill to Biden’s desk. That could pose another hurdle, as McCarthy said he opposed $6 billion in Ukraine aid included in the Senate bill.

“We continue to try to find a way out of this,” he said on Friday.

(Reporting by David Morgan and Makini Brice, Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone and Andrea Ricci)

By David Morgan and Makini Brice

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is expected to urge Republicans on Saturday to back a short-term funding bill with disaster relief that could avert a partial government shutdown by gaining support from Democrats, a source familiar with the plan said.

The source, who asked not to be named in order to discuss internal deliberations, described the move as a “Hail Mary pass.” It will test McCarthy’s hold over his narrow 221-212 majority.

Republican lawmakers on Friday blocked another stopgap bill, known as a “continuing resolution” or CR. That bill included multiple conservative policy additions that Democrats opposed, while the new bill likely would be a so-called clean CR without those additions, which could win Democratic support.

Infighting among Republicans who control the House of Representatives has pushed the United States to the brink of its fourth partial shutdown in a decade, as the chamber has been unable to pass legislation that would keep the government open beyond the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year.

On the other side of the Capitol, the Democratic-controlled Senate is due to advance a stopgap funding bill, but a final vote might not come for days.

Hundreds of thousands of federal employees will lack the funding to do their jobs if the two chambers do not send a spending bill for Democratic President Joe Biden to sign into law by 12:01 a.m. (0401 GMT) on Sunday.

Federal agencies have already drawn up detailed plans that spell out what services must continue, like airport screening and border patrols, and what must shut down, like scientific research and nutrition aid to 7 million poor mothers.

Most of the government’s 4 million-plus employees would not get paid, whether they were working or not.

In Atlanta, festivities for former President Jimmy Carter’s 99th birthday were moved up from Sunday to Saturday to avoid disruption, according to local media.

The standoff comes just months after Congress brought the federal government to the brink of defaulting on its $31.4 trillion debt. The drama has raised worries on Wall Street, where the Moody’s ratings agency has warned it could damage U.S. creditworthiness.

Congress typically passes stopgap spending bills to buy more time to negotiate the detailed legislation that sets funding for federal programs.

This year, a group of Republicans has blocked action in the House as they have pressed to tighten immigration and cut spending below levels agreed to in the debt-ceiling standoff last spring.

On Friday, 21 Republicans joined with Democrats to defeat legislation that reflected those demands, saying the chamber should focus instead on passing detailed spending bills for the full fiscal year, even if it leads to a shutdown in the near term.

That angered other Republicans, who said they had blown an opportunity to advance conservative policies.

“There’s a lot of frustration growing with the 21 individuals who chose to vote ‘no’ on what was a very good plan,” Republican Representative Nicole Malliotakis of New York said on Friday.

McCarthy said on Friday the chamber might try to rely on Democrats to help pass a stopgap bill that would continue funding at current levels, even though that could prompt a challenge to his leadership from hardliners. He did not provide further details.

The Senate is due to hold a procedural vote at 1:00 p.m. (1700 GMT) to extend government funding through Nov. 17. It enjoys wide support from Republicans and Democrats, but the chamber’s numerous hurdles mean that a vote on final passage could be delayed until Tuesday.

Even if that passes, the two chambers would have to resolve their differences before sending any bill to Biden’s desk. That could pose another hurdle, as McCarthy said he opposed $6 billion in Ukraine aid included in the Senate bill.

“We continue to try to find a way out of this,” he said on Friday.

(Reporting by David Morgan and Makini Brice, Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone and Andrea Ricci)

By David Morgan and Makini Brice

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is expected to urge Republicans on Saturday to back a short-term funding bill with disaster relief that could avert a partial government shutdown by gaining support from Democrats, a source familiar with the plan said.

The source, who asked not to be named in order to discuss internal deliberations, described the move as a “Hail Mary pass.” It will test McCarthy’s hold over his narrow 221-212 majority.

Republican lawmakers on Friday blocked another stopgap bill, known as a “continuing resolution” or CR. That bill included multiple conservative policy additions that Democrats opposed, while the new bill likely would be a so-called clean CR without those additions, which could win Democratic support.

Infighting among Republicans who control the House of Representatives has pushed the United States to the brink of its fourth partial shutdown in a decade, as the chamber has been unable to pass legislation that would keep the government open beyond the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year.

On the other side of the Capitol, the Democratic-controlled Senate is due to advance a stopgap funding bill, but a final vote might not come for days.

Hundreds of thousands of federal employees will lack the funding to do their jobs if the two chambers do not send a spending bill for Democratic President Joe Biden to sign into law by 12:01 a.m. (0401 GMT) on Sunday.

Federal agencies have already drawn up detailed plans that spell out what services must continue, like airport screening and border patrols, and what must shut down, like scientific research and nutrition aid to 7 million poor mothers.

Most of the government’s 4 million-plus employees would not get paid, whether they were working or not.

In Atlanta, festivities for former President Jimmy Carter’s 99th birthday were moved up from Sunday to Saturday to avoid disruption, according to local media.

The standoff comes just months after Congress brought the federal government to the brink of defaulting on its $31.4 trillion debt. The drama has raised worries on Wall Street, where the Moody’s ratings agency has warned it could damage U.S. creditworthiness.

Congress typically passes stopgap spending bills to buy more time to negotiate the detailed legislation that sets funding for federal programs.

This year, a group of Republicans has blocked action in the House as they have pressed to tighten immigration and cut spending below levels agreed to in the debt-ceiling standoff last spring.

On Friday, 21 Republicans joined with Democrats to defeat legislation that reflected those demands, saying the chamber should focus instead on passing detailed spending bills for the full fiscal year, even if it leads to a shutdown in the near term.

That angered other Republicans, who said they had blown an opportunity to advance conservative policies.

“There’s a lot of frustration growing with the 21 individuals who chose to vote ‘no’ on what was a very good plan,” Republican Representative Nicole Malliotakis of New York said on Friday.

McCarthy said on Friday the chamber might try to rely on Democrats to help pass a stopgap bill that would continue funding at current levels, even though that could prompt a challenge to his leadership from hardliners. He did not provide further details.

The Senate is due to hold a procedural vote at 1:00 p.m. (1700 GMT) to extend government funding through Nov. 17. It enjoys wide support from Republicans and Democrats, but the chamber’s numerous hurdles mean that a vote on final passage could be delayed until Tuesday.

Even if that passes, the two chambers would have to resolve their differences before sending any bill to Biden’s desk. That could pose another hurdle, as McCarthy said he opposed $6 billion in Ukraine aid included in the Senate bill.

“We continue to try to find a way out of this,” he said on Friday.

(Reporting by David Morgan and Makini Brice, Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone and Andrea Ricci)

By David Morgan and Makini Brice

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is expected to urge Republicans on Saturday to back a short-term funding bill with disaster relief that could avert a partial government shutdown by gaining support from Democrats, a source familiar with the plan said.

The source, who asked not to be named in order to discuss internal deliberations, described the move as a “Hail Mary pass.” It will test McCarthy’s hold over his narrow 221-212 majority.

Republican lawmakers on Friday blocked another stopgap bill, known as a “continuing resolution” or CR. That bill included multiple conservative policy additions that Democrats opposed, while the new bill likely would be a so-called clean CR without those additions, which could win Democratic support.

Infighting among Republicans who control the House of Representatives has pushed the United States to the brink of its fourth partial shutdown in a decade, as the chamber has been unable to pass legislation that would keep the government open beyond the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year.

On the other side of the Capitol, the Democratic-controlled Senate is due to advance a stopgap funding bill, but a final vote might not come for days.

Hundreds of thousands of federal employees will lack the funding to do their jobs if the two chambers do not send a spending bill for Democratic President Joe Biden to sign into law by 12:01 a.m. (0401 GMT) on Sunday.

Federal agencies have already drawn up detailed plans that spell out what services must continue, like airport screening and border patrols, and what must shut down, like scientific research and nutrition aid to 7 million poor mothers.

Most of the government’s 4 million-plus employees would not get paid, whether they were working or not.

In Atlanta, festivities for former President Jimmy Carter’s 99th birthday were moved up from Sunday to Saturday to avoid disruption, according to local media.

The standoff comes just months after Congress brought the federal government to the brink of defaulting on its $31.4 trillion debt. The drama has raised worries on Wall Street, where the Moody’s ratings agency has warned it could damage U.S. creditworthiness.

Congress typically passes stopgap spending bills to buy more time to negotiate the detailed legislation that sets funding for federal programs.

This year, a group of Republicans has blocked action in the House as they have pressed to tighten immigration and cut spending below levels agreed to in the debt-ceiling standoff last spring.

On Friday, 21 Republicans joined with Democrats to defeat legislation that reflected those demands, saying the chamber should focus instead on passing detailed spending bills for the full fiscal year, even if it leads to a shutdown in the near term.

That angered other Republicans, who said they had blown an opportunity to advance conservative policies.

“There’s a lot of frustration growing with the 21 individuals who chose to vote ‘no’ on what was a very good plan,” Republican Representative Nicole Malliotakis of New York said on Friday.

McCarthy said on Friday the chamber might try to rely on Democrats to help pass a stopgap bill that would continue funding at current levels, even though that could prompt a challenge to his leadership from hardliners. He did not provide further details.

The Senate is due to hold a procedural vote at 1:00 p.m. (1700 GMT) to extend government funding through Nov. 17. It enjoys wide support from Republicans and Democrats, but the chamber’s numerous hurdles mean that a vote on final passage could be delayed until Tuesday.

Even if that passes, the two chambers would have to resolve their differences before sending any bill to Biden’s desk. That could pose another hurdle, as McCarthy said he opposed $6 billion in Ukraine aid included in the Senate bill.

“We continue to try to find a way out of this,” he said on Friday.

(Reporting by David Morgan and Makini Brice, Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone and Andrea Ricci)

By Andy Sullivan and David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Lawmakers return to the U.S. Congress on Saturday with no clear path to resolving a squabble that appears likely to close wide swaths of the federal government, from national parks to financial regulation, in less than 18 hours.

Infighting among Republicans who control the House of Representatives has pushed the United States to the brink of its fourth partial shutdown in a decade, as the chamber has been unable to pass legislation that would keep the government open beyond the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year.

On the other side of the Capitol, the Democratic-controlled Senate is due to advance a stopgap funding bill, but a final vote might not come for days.

Hundreds of thousands of federal employees will lack the funding to do their jobs if the two chambers do not send a spending bill for Democratic President Joe Biden to sign into law by 12:01 a.m. (0401 GMT) on Sunday.

Federal agencies have already drawn up detailed plans that spell out what services must continue, like airport screening and border patrols, and what must shut down, like scientific research and nutrition aid to 7 million poor mothers.

Most of the government’s 4 million-plus employees would not get paid, whether they were working or not.

In Atlanta, festivities for former president Jimmy Carter’s 99th birthday were moved up from Sunday to Saturday to avoid disruption, according to local media.

The standoff comes just months after Congress brought the federal government to the brink of defaulting on its $31.4 trillion debt. The drama has raised worries on Wall Street, where the Moody’s ratings agency has warned it could damage U.S. creditworthiness.

Congress typically passes stopgap spending bills to buy more time to negotiate the detailed legislation that sets funding for federal programs.

This year, a group of Republicans has blocked action in the House as they have pressed to tighten immigration and cut spending below levels agreed to in the debt-ceiling standoff last spring.

On Friday, 21 Republicans joined with Democrats to defeat legislation that reflected those demands, saying the chamber should focus instead on passing detailed spending bills for the full fiscal year, even if it leads to a shutdown in the near term.

That angered other Republicans, who said they had blown an opportunity to advance conservative policies.

“There’s a lot of frustration growing with the 21 individuals who chose to vote ‘no’ on what was a very good plan,” Republican Representative Nicole Malliotakis of New York said on Friday.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said the chamber might try to rely on Democrats to help pass a stopgap bill that would continue funding at current levels, even though that could prompt a challenge to his leadership from hardliners. He did not provide further details.

The Senate is due to hold a procedural vote at 1:00 p.m. (1700 GMT) to extend government funding through Nov. 17. It enjoys wide support from Republicans and Democrats, but the chamber’s numerous hurdles mean that a vote on final passage could be delayed until Tuesday.

Even if that passes, the two chambers would have to resolve their differences before sending any bill to Biden’s desk. That could pose another hurdle, as McCarthy said he opposed $6 billion in Ukraine aid included in the Senate bill.

“We continue to try to find a way out of this,” he said on Friday.

(Reporting by Andy Sullivan and David Morgan; Editing by Sonali Paul)

By Andy Sullivan and David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Lawmakers return to the U.S. Congress on Saturday with no clear path to resolving a squabble that appears likely to close wide swaths of the federal government, from national parks to financial regulation, in less than 18 hours.

Infighting among Republicans who control the House of Representatives has pushed the United States to the brink of its fourth partial shutdown in a decade, as the chamber has been unable to pass legislation that would keep the government open beyond the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year.

On the other side of the Capitol, the Democratic-controlled Senate is due to advance a stopgap funding bill, but a final vote might not come for days.

Hundreds of thousands of federal employees will lack the funding to do their jobs if the two chambers do not send a spending bill for Democratic President Joe Biden to sign into law by 12:01 a.m. (0401 GMT) on Sunday.

Federal agencies have already drawn up detailed plans that spell out what services must continue, like airport screening and border patrols, and what must shut down, like scientific research and nutrition aid to 7 million poor mothers.

Most of the government’s 4 million-plus employees would not get paid, whether they were working or not.

In Atlanta, festivities for former president Jimmy Carter’s 99th birthday were moved up from Sunday to Saturday to avoid disruption, according to local media.

The standoff comes just months after Congress brought the federal government to the brink of defaulting on its $31.4 trillion debt. The drama has raised worries on Wall Street, where the Moody’s ratings agency has warned it could damage U.S. creditworthiness.

Congress typically passes stopgap spending bills to buy more time to negotiate the detailed legislation that sets funding for federal programs.

This year, a group of Republicans has blocked action in the House as they have pressed to tighten immigration and cut spending below levels agreed to in the debt-ceiling standoff last spring.

On Friday, 21 Republicans joined with Democrats to defeat legislation that reflected those demands, saying the chamber should focus instead on passing detailed spending bills for the full fiscal year, even if it leads to a shutdown in the near term.

That angered other Republicans, who said they had blown an opportunity to advance conservative policies.

“There’s a lot of frustration growing with the 21 individuals who chose to vote ‘no’ on what was a very good plan,” Republican Representative Nicole Malliotakis of New York said on Friday.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said the chamber might try to rely on Democrats to help pass a stopgap bill that would continue funding at current levels, even though that could prompt a challenge to his leadership from hardliners. He did not provide further details.

The Senate is due to hold a procedural vote at 1:00 p.m. (1700 GMT) to extend government funding through Nov. 17. It enjoys wide support from Republicans and Democrats, but the chamber’s numerous hurdles mean that a vote on final passage could be delayed until Tuesday.

Even if that passes, the two chambers would have to resolve their differences before sending any bill to Biden’s desk. That could pose another hurdle, as McCarthy said he opposed $6 billion in Ukraine aid included in the Senate bill.

“We continue to try to find a way out of this,” he said on Friday.

(Reporting by Andy Sullivan and David Morgan; Editing by Sonali Paul)

By Joseph Ax

(Reuters) – Shortly after Wednesday’s second Republican presidential debate concluded, California Governor Gavin Newsom was holding court in the so-called “spin room,” bouncing from one network to another to tout Democratic President Joe Biden as the real winner of the evening.

It was an increasingly familiar position for Newsom, who has emerged as perhaps the Biden re-election campaign’s most visible representative.

Newsom’s role as Biden’s cheerleader-in-chief has also boosted his own national profile ahead of 2028, when he is widely expected to consider a White House run.

Whether Biden wins in 2024 or not, Democrats will need a new standard-bearer in 2028, with many in the party calling for a younger, more energetic leader. Newsom is near the top of a list that includes Vice President Kamala Harris, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, among others.

Newsom has remained in the spotlight since the debate. On Thursday, he signed a bill raising the minimum wage for the state’s half-million fast food workers, a major victory for labor leaders. The news on Friday of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein’s death meant Newsom will have the job of naming a replacement to help protect Democrats’ slim Senate majority.

While the governor has repeatedly denied any interest in usurping Biden as the party’s presumptive nominee next year, he would be among the leading alternatives alongside Harris – a fellow Californian – if the 80-year-old Biden were forced to step aside.

“This is a win-win,” said Steven Maviglio, a veteran Democratic strategist in California. “It benefits Biden, and it benefits Newsom.”

Newsom’s office and his political action committee did not respond to requests for comment.

Newsom made headlines last year when he urged Democrats to take a more combative tack, saying the party was getting “destroyed” on messaging by Republicans.

He has taken his own advice to heart. In November, Newsom and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, will meet in an unusual one-on-one televised debate, with Fox News host Sean Hannity moderating.

‘DRY RUN’

Newsom, elected twice as governor of the country’s most populous state, has spent much of 2023 building a national network of supporters. In March, he launched a political action committee, Campaign for Democracy, with $10 million targeting conservative states such as Alabama and Arkansas.

In recent weeks, Newsom has signed or promised to sign a flurry of bills passed by California’s Democratic-majority legislature, including a first-in-the-nation excise tax on gun and ammunition sales and a requirement that large corporations disclose their carbon footprint.

But he has also vetoed a few bills backed by progressives, including one that would have barred driverless heavy-duty trucks and another that would have required judges to consider parental acceptance of children’s gender identities in deciding custody cases.

Jane Kim, the California director of the liberal Working Families Party, said Newsom deserves credit for many of his achievements. However, she said progressives wish he had done more to push liberal priorities such as single-payer healthcare, a policy he ran on in 2018.

“We’ve seen him thread that needle, because it’s clear he has an eye to a more national profile, not just California voters,” she said.

Newsom’s decision on Feinstein’s replacement could be politically fraught.

He has previously said he would elevate a Black woman if the post became vacant. But he has also said he would not pick one of the candidates running for the seat in 2024, disappointing supporters of U.S. Representative Barbara Lee, who is vying with several other Democrats.

While Newsom has touted California’s success in advancing labor unions, climate protections, gun safety and social justice, he would face some significant obstacles in running for national office.

Republicans often portray California as a bastion of leftist extremism. Critics point to persistent homelessness and a lack of affordable housing in some of the state’s biggest cities.

DeSantis referred to his November debate with Newsom at an event in Long Beach, California, on Friday, calling the state “the Petri dish for leftism in this country.”

Newsom also is a white man in a party whose voters are eager to elevate women and candidates of color, especially after Biden’s tenure, said Eric Schickler, a political science professor at the University of California in Berkeley.

“Often when politicians go from the state level to the national level, they really struggle with communicating – you can see that with DeSantis,” Schickler said. “To some extent, this is a dry run for Newsom.”

(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Additional reporting by James Oliphant, Tim Reid and Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Cynthia Osterman)

By Andy Sullivan and David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Lawmakers return to the U.S. Congress on Saturday with no clear path to resolving a squabble that appears likely to close wide swaths of the federal government, from national parks to financial regulation, in less than 18 hours.

Infighting among Republicans who control the House of Representatives has pushed the United States to the brink of its fourth partial shutdown in a decade, as the chamber has been unable to pass legislation that would keep the government open beyond the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year.

On the other side of the Capitol, the Democratic-controlled Senate is due to advance a stopgap funding bill, but a final vote might not come for days.

Hundreds of thousands of federal employees will lack the funding to do their jobs if the two chambers do not send a spending bill for Democratic President Joe Biden to sign into law by 12:01 a.m. (0401 GMT) on Sunday.

Federal agencies have already drawn up detailed plans that spell out what services must continue, like airport screening and border patrols, and what must shut down, like scientific research and nutrition aid to 7 million poor mothers.

Most of the government’s 4 million-plus employees would not get paid, whether they were working or not.

In Atlanta, festivities for former president Jimmy Carter’s 99th birthday were moved up from Sunday to Saturday to avoid disruption, according to local media.

The standoff comes just months after Congress brought the federal government to the brink of defaulting on its $31.4 trillion debt. The drama has raised worries on Wall Street, where the Moody’s ratings agency has warned it could damage U.S. creditworthiness.

Congress typically passes stopgap spending bills to buy more time to negotiate the detailed legislation that sets funding for federal programs.

This year, a group of Republicans has blocked action in the House as they have pressed to tighten immigration and cut spending below levels agreed to in the debt-ceiling standoff last spring.

On Friday, 21 Republicans joined with Democrats to defeat legislation that reflected those demands, saying the chamber should focus instead on passing detailed spending bills for the full fiscal year, even if it leads to a shutdown in the near term.

That angered other Republicans, who said they had blown an opportunity to advance conservative policies.

“There’s a lot of frustration growing with the 21 individuals who chose to vote ‘no’ on what was a very good plan,” Republican Representative Nicole Malliotakis of New York said on Friday.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said the chamber might try to rely on Democrats to help pass a stopgap bill that would continue funding at current levels, even though that could prompt a challenge to his leadership from hardliners. He did not provide further details.

The Senate is due to hold a procedural vote at 1:00 p.m. (1700 GMT) to extend government funding through Nov. 17. It enjoys wide support from Republicans and Democrats, but the chamber’s numerous hurdles mean that a vote on final passage could be delayed until Tuesday.

Even if that passes, the two chambers would have to resolve their differences before sending any bill to Biden’s desk. That could pose another hurdle, as McCarthy said he opposed $6 billion in Ukraine aid included in the Senate bill.

“We continue to try to find a way out of this,” he said on Friday.

(Reporting by Andy Sullivan and David Morgan; Editing by Sonali Paul)

By Moira Warburton and David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Hardline Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday rejected a bill proposed by their leader to temporarily fund the government, making it all but certain that federal agencies will partially shut down beginning on Sunday.

In a 232-198 vote, the House defeated a measure that would extend government funding by 30 days and avert a shutdown. That bill would have slashed spending and restricted immigration, Republican priorities that had little chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate.

The defeat left Republicans – who control the chamber by 221-212 – without a clear strategy to avert a shutdown that would close national parks, disrupt pay for up to 4 million federal workers and hobble everything from financial oversight to scientific research if funding is not extended past 12:01 a.m. ET (0401 GMT) on Sunday.

After the vote, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said the chamber might still pass a funding extension without the conservative policies that had alienated Democrats. But he declined to say what would happen next. The chamber is expected to hold more votes on Saturday.

“It’s only a failure if you quit,” he told reporters.

It was not clear whether the Senate would act in time, either. The chamber was due on Saturday afternoon to take up a bipartisan bill that would fund the government through Nov. 17, but procedural hurdles could delay a final vote until Tuesday.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Friday that a government shutdown would “undermine” U.S. economic progress by idling programs for small businesses and children and could delay major infrastructure improvements.

The shutdown would be the fourth in a decade and just four months after a similar standoff brought the federal government within days of defaulting on its $31 trillion debt. The repeated brinkmanship has raised worries on Wall Street, where the Moody’s ratings agency has warned it could damage U.S. creditworthiness.

HEAVY TOLL ON MILITARY, SAYS BIDEN

Biden warned that a shutdown could take a heavy toll on the armed forces.

“We can’t be playing politics while our troops stand in the breach. It’s an absolute dereliction of duty,” Biden, a Democrat, said at a retirement ceremony for Mark Milley, a senior general.

McCarthy had hoped the Republican spending bill’s border provisions would have won over holdouts who so far have defied efforts to avert a shutdown.

In the end, 21 hardline House Republicans sided with Democrats to defeat the measure.

“There are members who don’t care whether the government stays open or it shuts down,” said Republican Representative Kat Cammack told reporters. “The ones that I believe are OK with a shutdown have never been through a shutdown.”

Holdouts say Congress should focus on writing detailed spending bills that would cover the entire fiscal year, rather than temporary extensions, even if doing so prompts a shutdown. The House has passed four full-year bills so far, though they stand no chance of winning Senate approval.

“What does work is rolling up our sleeves and getting onto these single subject bills and moving them,” Representative Matt Gaetz said on a podcast after voting against the stopgap bill on Friday.

Other Republicans said they would probably have to work with Democrats to pass a stopgap bill that could win approval in the Senate and from Biden. “Some people are missing the obvious,” said Republican Representative Don Bacon.

McCarthy said he was considering that approach but would not accept additional aid to Ukraine that Biden has requested and lawmakers in the Senate are including in their stopgap bill.

Former President Donald Trump, Biden’s likely election opponent in 2024, criticized Senate Republicans for working with Democrats.

Gaetz and a handful of other hardliners have threatened to oust McCarthy from his leadership role if he relies on Democratic votes.

“We’re in the middle of a Republican civil war that has been going on for months, and now threatens a catastrophic government shutdown,” top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries told reporters.

McCarthy and Biden in June agreed to a deal that would have set agency spending at $1.59 trillion in fiscal 2024, but hardliners like Gaetz say that figure should be $120 billion lower. Lawmakers are not considering cuts to popular benefit programs such as Social Security and Medicare that make up a larger portion of the government’s $6.4 trillion budget.

(Reporting by Moira Warburton, Richard Cowan and David Morgan; Editing by Andy Sullivan, Alistair Bell, Jonathan Oatis, Grant McCool and Cynthia Osterman)