Mitch McConnell warns about the consequences of a government shutdown

Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, warned that, in his opinion, it would be a political mistake for Congress to be forced to shut down the government a few weeks before Election Day. He further stated that Republicans would be singled out as the ones to blame for the situation.

McConnell made it clear that he wants to see some sort of bipartisan compromise in the next 13 days to avoid a government shutdown.

"One thing you cannot have is a government shutdown. It would be politically beyond stupid for us to do that right before the election, because certainly we’d get the blame," McConnell told reporters Tuesday in statements reported by The Hill.

He argued that all alternatives should be pursued to avoid a government shutdown. "We’ve been here before. I’m for whatever avoids a government shutdown, and that’ll ultimately end up, obviously, being a discussion between the Senate Democratic leader and the Speaker of the House," McConnell stressed.

The Hill reported that the Republican commented on the situation a few hours after House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled his plan to vote this week on a bill combining a six-month continuing resolution with legislation that would require proof of citizenship to vote.

"Johnson canceled a vote that was scheduled for last week on the six-month funding stopgap combined with the Trump-backed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act because of divisions within his own conference," The Hill reported.

Meanwhile, Democrats warned that they believe the voter registration language is a "poison pill" that will sink the funding package.