Outgoing Boehner vows to avert US government shutdown
Outgoing US House Speaker John Boehner has promised to avert a government shutdown over federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
“I don’t want to leave my successor a dirty barn. I want to clean the barn up a little bit before the next person gets there,” the Ohio Republican said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation."
“The Senate is expected to pass a continuing resolution next week. The House will take up the Senate bill,” he added.
Boehner stunned Washington on Friday with a surprise announcement that he would leave both his speakership post and Congress at the end of October.
Congressional conservatives have for weeks indicated that they are willing to shut down the government over any funding measure that includes money for Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the United States.
Prior to his departure announcement, Boehner was under intense pressure to defund Planned Parenthood in a spending bill to keep the government open— a move which would have been blocked by Democrats, guaranteeing a shutdown.
The resignation of Boehner, who has served as speaker of the House since 2011, has created an opening for the more conservative wing of the House caucus.
One person who is naturally next in line is House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a US representative for California's 23rd District.
But McCarthy is expected to face a challenge for the speakership, though it's unclear how serious that fight will be.
In 2013, the federal government was shut down for 16 days after Congress failed to pass a budget because of brinkmanship over President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law, known as Obamacare.
About 850,000 federal employees were furloughed immediately after funding ran out, according to a White House report.
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