Some House Republicans know they'll 'get the blame' for 'stupid' government shutdown: report

Hoping to avoid a federal government shutdown, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) is still trying to work out some type of funding agreement with members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus. But negotiations haven't been going well, and a shutdown appears likely.

In an article published by Politico on September 21, journalists Katherine Tully-McManus and Adam Cancryn stress that some House Republicans fully expect their party — not Democrats — to be blamed if a shutdown occurs.

Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) told Politico, "We always get the blame. Name one time that we've shut the government down and we haven't got the blame."

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Similarly, Rep. Steve Womack (R-Arkansas) told Politico, "I think the governing majority, which is presiding at the time the government shuts down, probably is going to bear a lot of the blame. And we're the ones with the gavel … It's our job to run the government."

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, an ex-GOP congressman and Never Trump conservative, has been warning that Republicans in swing districts will pay a price politically if there is a shutdown. And a prominent Democrat, Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, is — just as Scarbrough warns — arguing that House Republicans are showing their inability to govern.

Hoyer told Politico, "I think the American public basically believes that shutting down the government is a dumb thing to do and a costly thing to do. What a stupid thing to do in terms of knowing full well that you're probably going to reimburse people for not working."

READ MORE:Republicans in disarray as government shutdown fight looms: report

Politico's full report is available at this link.