GOP rep says attempts to avert shutdown ‘Washington’s version of Burning Man’ 

Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.) on Wednesday described attempts to prevent a government shutdown as “Washington’s version of Burning Man.”

“We are stuck in the mud,” Womack said in an interview with CNN.

Womack was evoking the recent disastrous situation that occurred at Burning Man, in which a storm swept through Nevada’s Black Rock Desert and left thousands stranded for days. 

In the latest sign of the brutal spending fight ahead in the House, GOP leaders Wednesday delayed a planned vote on a Department of Defense (DOD) appropriations bill, facing opposition from the party’s conservatives.

“We had the DOD bill ready to go on the floor today, but for the fact that we couldn’t produce the votes to approve the rule, we’ve had to pull that bill away,” Womack said.

Budget hawks are demanding a full plan on spending levels before going ahead with individual spending bills. 

“I think they’re just working on it,” Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters shortly after the planned 1:30 vote series was pulled.