The White House said Thursday that if Congress sends President Obama a spending bill that includes Republican policy “riders” he opposes, he would not sign the bill, and instead would allow the government to partially shut down.
Republicans are considering adding language in a huge spending bill that must be signed by next week that would gut the Wall Street reform law, block Syrian refugees, and pause EPA regulations.
But White House spokesman Josh Earnest said those sorts of ideas wouldn’t fly, and made it clear that Obama wouldn’t sign such a bill.
“Republicans are going to have to demonstrate a willingness to actually work in bipartisan fashion to find common ground on budget issues,” he said at the White House. “If they don’t, we’re looking at another government shutdown.”
While that’s a clear message Obama would veto the bill, Earnest said blame should be placed on Republicans for offering those ideas as part of the spending bill.
“Republicans may think that they can threaten a government shutdown to get the president to go along with giveaways to big polluters and the largest financial institutions in America,” he said. “They’re wrong about that. The president’s not going to go along with that.”
“Republicans are risking another government shutdown, and they’re doing that by insisting on the inclusion of a substantial number of ideological riders that are nothing more than giveaways to special interests,” he added.
“And these happen to be special interests that are significant contributors to the Republican Party,” Earnest said. “That’s a relevant fact.”
On Wednesday, House Democrats made it clear they also oppose the inclusion of these policy riders on the spending bill. That opposition raises the prospect of another government funding crisis with just a week to go before current funding expires.
If the two sides can’t make progress, it’s possible some short-term funding bill might be needed as they negotiate. But on Wednesday, the White House said Obama also wouldn’t sign another short-term bill, other than perhaps one lasting just a few days if needed.
