On Sept. 30, the U.S. Congress averted a shutdown by passing a temporary spending package to keep the government funded until mid-November. Passage of the last-minute appropriations bill ultimately proved fatal for Rep. Kevin McCarthy, as the House of Representatives voted to eject him from the speakership three days later.

A shutdown occurs when Congress — which must pass 12 separate discretionary spending appropriation bills — fails to fund the government’s operations before a new fiscal year. During a shutdown, federal employees who work for impacted agencies are temporarily furloughed, while essential workers, like air traffic controllers, continue working without pay. The last time the government shut down was because of a fight over border wall funding, occurring from the end of December 2018 to January 2019.

In June, McCarthy and President Joe Biden reached a tentative agreement that would have capped discretionary spending at $1.59 trillion for the 2024 fiscal year. In response, several lawmakers, including Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, objected. The resistance by Gaetz and several other conservatives led McCarthy to order that each committee draft its respective appropriation bill in line with 2022’s level of spending, much lower than what McCarthy and Biden had agreed on. The bills drafted by the Republican-chaired appropriation committees called for significant cuts in discretionary spending on federal social welfare programs, including an approximately 80 percent cut in funding to schools that serve a high concentration of impoverished students.

As the calendar inched closer to the Oct. 1 deadline, many in Congress considered short-term solutions to avert a shutdown. The U.S. Senate sought to pass a bipartisan continuing resolution (CR) — a temporary bill designed to keep the government functioning while Congress works on passing appropriations bills — which would fund the government until Nov. 17 at current spending levels while allocating an additional $6 billion for the War in Ukraine and another $6 billion for disaster relief. The House took a different approach, as McCarthy attempted and failed on Sept. 29 to pass his temporary stopgap bill riddled with conservative priorities, including massive spending cuts and funding for a Southern border wall.

Daniel Magleby, associate professor in the political science department at Binghamton University, said that while political fights over federal spending have occurred throughout American history, they have become more common.

“In [recent] years, as divides between Democrats and Republicans have gotten deeper, it seems like brinkmanship over spending bills has become more common,” Magleby wrote in an email. “It is far more likely to occur in periods of divided government, when at least one chamber of Congress and the presidency are controlled by different parties. The prospect of a government shutdown is a powerful source of leverage for legislators to gain concessions from the president.”

A government shutdown appeared inevitable until McCarthy cooperated with Democrats to pass a CR that eliminated the cuts to social programs. The House voted 335-91 to pass the bill, with virtually all opposing votes coming from the most conservative Republicans. The bill passed the Senate and received Biden’s signature late on Sept. 30, hours before the midnight deadline.

In a statement, Rep. Marc Molinaro, whose district includes Broome County, explained his vote for the stopgap bill.

“I’ve been saying we need to avert a shutdown and tamp down on inflation by reining in the size, scale and scope of the federal government,” the statement said. “I voted ‘yes’ to advance a short-term spending bill that allows us to avert a government shutdown and continue working on long-term spending bills that effectively rein in spending and inflation and secures the border.”

Passage of the CR with assistance from Democrats placed McCarthy in jeopardy with members of his party. This past Monday, three days after the bill was enacted into law, Gaetz moved to remove McCarthy from the speakership by filing a motion to vacate the chair, a tool allowing any one member of Congress to call for a new speaker. Gaetz had threatened to utilize the measure numerous times before.

On Tuesday, the House voted 216-210 to remove McCarthy from the speakership, with eight Republicans joining all Democrats present. McCarthy’s ousting represents the first time in U.S. history that a speaker has been removed. To fill the post, Rep. Jim Jordan, a founding member of the far-right Freedom Caucus, and Rep. Steve Scalise, the majority leader, have declared their candidacies for speaker.

Magleby discussed what the last week’s political dramas mean for both the Republican Party and the country.

“Republicans have a real problem on their hands,” Magleby wrote. “They have a razor-thin majority. More problematic, a few of the most conservative Republicans have made it clear that anybody who cooperates with Democrats, particularly President Biden, is a persona non grata. An unwillingness to build coalitions with moderate Democrats will make it hard for any Republican to manage the party in the House. The events of this past week are a harbinger of problems and gridlock for Republicans, the House, Congress and the country.”

Atticus Fauci, the president of BU’s College Democrats and a sophomore majoring in economics, and Tim Martinson, the organization’s vice president and a senior majoring in political science, released a joint statement about the recent political developments.

“We are relieved that a bipartisan resolution to extend funding was passed and signed by President Biden,” they wrote in an email. “We are frustrated that the House will be sent into chaos with so much that still needs to be done, but we are glad to see that no Democrat supported [McCarthy], because BU’s very own [Rep.] Hakeem Jeffries will always be our choice for speaker.”