'Still confused' GOP remains in disarray as another shutdown looms

House Republicans are squabbling over a funding measure with a government shutdown looming next week – the same situation Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) found himself just before he was ousted as speaker.

New House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) finds himself with the same problem as his predecessor, but it seems unlikely he'll be able to wave a magic wand and solve disagreements within the GOP caucus over spending levels or craft a bill that a Democratic Senate or President Joe Biden would sign off on, reported The Daily Beast.

“It’s the same, it’s the same set of issues," said Rep. John Duarte (R-CA). "Again, the same tectonic plates. New speaker, nothing’s changed.”

McCarthy was ousted last month when Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) filed a motion to vacate and eight Republicans joined with Democrats to remove him, and the stopgap funding measure he cobbled together with Democratic support expires next week and the clock is ticking for Johnson.

“We are in a difficult position right now," said Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX), a member of the House Freedom Caucus. "I thought we were going to show the speaker a little bit of grace. He was placed in a very difficult position. He was given a soup sandwich."

“It is looking like we’re still confused," Nehls added, "and we are not united."

Lawmakers are considering a "laddered" continuing resolution, where some spending bills would expire earlier than others, but Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) and other conservatives see a continuing resolution as unacceptable and insist on using spending negotiations as leverage for border reform.

“The new speaker has new runway, so as long as the Republican caucus gets behind him, then we’ll move forward,” said Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT). “If everyone pushes together, we’ll get through, but if people decide to push different ways, then those wheels are going to come off, and we’re going to go right back into the mud.”