DENVER — As Congress prepared to return to Washington on Tuesday, a prominent member of Colorado's House delegation warned that the federal government could be barreling toward a shutdown, even as the chamber's leading Republican worked furiously to corral factions of his party.
"I think until cooler heads prevail within the House Republican conference and they decide to actually govern, unfortunately, it looks like they may have manufactured a situation in which we are going to be faced with a shutdown in five or six days, with destructive consequences for Colorado and the country," Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse of Lafayette, a member of the powerful House Rules Committee, told Colorado Politics on Monday. "I'm hopeful that when we go back tomorrow, we'll be able to avoid it."
It could require masterful orchestration by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the California Republican in charge of bringing together moderates and hard-liners within his party to approve a spending plan ahead of a Saturday deadline to fund the government.
The House Rules Committee held a rare Saturday session to set the stage for this week's voting, as the White House began telling federal agencies to prepare for a possible shutdown over the weekend, The Associated Press reported.
>9NEWS.com readers can view the full article at Colorado Politics.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Full Episodes of Next with Kyle Clark
9NEWS+ has multiple live daily shows including 9NEWS Mornings, Next with Kyle Clark and 9NEWS+ Daily, an original streaming program. 9NEWS+ is where you can watch live breaking news, weather updates, and press conferences. You can also replay recent newscasts and find videos on demand of our top stories, local politics, investigations and Colorado specific features.
To download 9NEWS+ on Roku search for KUSA.
To download 9NEWS+ on Fire TV search for 9NEWS.