Former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) criticized Republican lawmakers over their inability to agree on spending bills as the Oct. 1 government shutdown deadline draws closer.
“It’s nihilism, is what it is,” Ryan said during an event in Wisconsin. “We look like fools. We look like we can’t govern.”
A handful of Republican hard-liners have refused to agree on spending, preventing the chamber from passing a short-term funding measure to avoid a shutdown. Infighting within the House GOP has been happening for weeks, with current Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) unable to make either side happy.
On Tuesday night, House Republicans were able to advanced four of the 12 full-year appropriations bills. While it does nothing to avert a shutdown later this week, McCarthy hopes it will build momentum toward passing a short-term funding bill.
The Senate revealed its own proposal for a resolution Tuesday, which would put off a shutdown for six weeks.
Still, Ryan is not convinced House Republicans will be able to get it done in time.
“There are a bunch of people who I think feel this is in their interest,” Ryan said of a shutdown. “So, I fear that is going to happen.”
Ryan was Speaker of the House during the 2018 government shutdown, which lasted a record 35 days. In the last five decades, there have been 21 shutdowns.
The Associated Press contributed.