‘I was asleep at the switch’

A House Republican opponent of the stopgap continuing resolution meant to keep the federal government fully open after Sept. 30 says he accidentally helped it clear a key hurdle.

“To be honest with you, I was asleep at the switch,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) told reporters when questioned about his Monday night “aye” vote in the House Rules Committee.

Norman initially indicated he would vote against advancing the CR, possibly blocking it from receiving a floor vote.

But the 70-year-old lawmaker now says he inadvertently believed he was supporting a resolution condemning New Mexico Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who controversially suspended the open and concealed carrying of firearms in the city of Albuquerque earlier this month.

Norman indicated that he still plans to vote against the spending measure if it comes up for a vote on the House floor.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) wants to hold a vote on the stopgap bill Thursday despite opposition from over a dozen Republicans.

Currently, McCarthy can only lose four GOPers and still pass legislation along party lines.

Peeved by the revolt, McCarthy is effectively set to dare his peers to vote against the measure to avert a partial government shutdown.

The CR bill is intended to be a temporary patch to buy time for the House to pass all 12 appropriations bills needed to properly fund the government.

The House has only passed one of those and appears to be at odds with the Senate over top-line spending figures.

A spokesperson for Norman said his office had nothing to add beyond his public remarks on the accidental vote.

The CR deal was brokered Sunday night by members of the hard-line conservative House Freedom Caucus and the comparatively moderate Main Street Caucus.

It would keep the government’s lights on through Halloween in exchange for cutting spending on agencies besides the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs by 8% from current levels.

The bill would also beef up border security, but steers clear of added funding for Ukraine.

Senate Democrats have said the CR deal is a non-starter in their chamber, taking special issue with Republican lawmakers who have pushed for lower top-line numbers than were agreed upon during the debt limit spat this year.