The House has yet to pass measures to keep the government running and some are blaming Speaker Johnson. (The Hill)

Republican senators are fast losing patience with Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) inability to muster the votes to avoid a government shutdown at the end of September, and are warning they will take matters into their own hands if the House fails to act by Thursday.

GOP senators fear that Congress may stumble into a shutdown if Johnson can’t get a short-term funding measure passed by the end of the week and are ready to work with Senate Democrats to stave off a potential disaster before Election Day. by Alexander Bolton, ‘The Hill’

The formerly mundane budget bills are now a fight to the political death grudge match every several months when budget deals have to pass to keep the government open and running. This is taking place in the middle of probably the most contentious Presidential election in modern history. What could go wrong? Speaker Johnson is trying to salvage his governing reputation and that of his party in what is a process that never goes smoothly anymore.