Speaker McCarthy Faces an Almost Impossible Task Trying to Unite House GOP and Fund the Government

WASHINGTON (AP) Facing fresh challenges to his leadership, Speaker Kevin McCarthy is trying to accomplish what at times seems impossible working furiously to convince House Republicans to come together and pass a conservative bill to keep the federal government open.

Its a nearly futile exercise that could help McCarthy keep his job, but has little chance of actually preventing a federal shutdown. Whatever Republicans come up with in the House is nearly certain to be rejected by the Senate, where Democrats and most Republicans together want to fund the government.

With time dwindling, plans for a Tuesday test vote in the House were scrapped as negotiations resumed. Congress faces a Sept. 30 deadline to pass legislation and get a bill to President Joe Biden's desk to become law. Otherwise, the U.S. faces massive federal government closures and disruptions.

The balls in Kevins court, said Republican Rep. Ralph Norman of the Freedom Caucus.

The latest House funding proposal, a compromise between members of the hard-right Freedom Caucus and others from the more pragmatic Main Street conservatives, was almost dead on arrival, left sputtering even after McCarthy loaded it up with spending cuts and Republican priorities in a border security package.