By Daniella Diaz

With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team

Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other leaders proposed a five-week sprint through the seven remaining fiscal 2023 appropriations bills. | AP

TICK TOCK: The government will shut down in two days if Congress can’t pass a funding patch.

HOUSE RECESS IS CANCELED 

Another day. Another blowup. Another new plan.

So it goes for House Republicans, who just wrapped up their third conference meeting this week without a clear path toward preventing the federal government from shutting down early Sunday morning.

This much they know: They’re going to be here a while. Majority Leader Steve Scalise told colleagues that their October recess, which was scheduled to run till Oct. 17, is canceled as they figure out a way forward.

What’s not clear is whether the government will remain closed while they do that. Closing out the nearly two-hour meeting, Speaker Kevin McCarthy urged members to support a short continuing resolution that could come the the floor as soon as tomorrow and give the House GOP space to execute their plan.

The new strategy? Inside HC-5, McCarthy and other leaders proposed a five-week sprint through the seven remaining fiscal 2023 appropriations bills. Remember that passing those bills would not reopen the government but rather set up further negotiations with the Senate and White House.

As for a stopgap that would keep the government open while those full-year bills are processed? Prospects are highly unclear. Repeated attempts to pass a CR this week failed, culminating in this afternoon’s 232-198 rout, where 21 hard-right Republicans joined with Democrats to reject a conservative one-month patch.

Afterward, some House Freedom Caucus members floated the possibility that they could support an even shorter CR, ranging from a few days to two weeks, buying the House time to pass the full-year appropriations bills.

They included Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), one of hardliners who has firmly opposed CRs up to this point but told reporters upon exiting the conference meeting that he could be open to a short patch.

Another holdout, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), said he did not know “what the magic number is” for the length of a CR that could pass the House but added, “Let’s just stay here and work.” (You don’t say!)

Vibe check: Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) captured the frustrations of many rank-and-file Republicans as he beat an early exit from the meeting, railing against the hard-right rebels who have repeatedly upended leadership strategy without, he said, articulating a viable strategy of their own.

“The holdouts say, Let's just have the shutdown and we'll work with the appropriations process — and all of a sudden, the messy democracy that makes appropriations process difficult in the first place will somehow resolve itself,’” he said.

“It’s a f—king democracy, it’s hard,” Crenshaw added. “And there’s no acknowledgement of that.”

On the Democratic side: Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries met with McCarthy today to discuss putting the 45-day CR that’s expected to pass the Senate over the weekend on the House floor for a vote.

“The only way forward is for House Republicans to put the bipartisan continuing resolution that emerges from the Senate on the House floor for an up or down vote,” Jeffries told reporters.

Expect plenty more chatter about those exotic procedural options that could allow a small group of Republicans to ally with Democrats and move a bipartisan patch forward — especially after McCarthy appeared to acknowledge the possibility of a discharge petition.

— Daniella Diaz, with assists from Sarah Ferris, Jordain Carney and Olivia Beavers

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GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, Sept. 29 where your Huddle host is very excited about our new energy drink options!

SENATE SET TO ADVANCE CR TOMORROW

There will be action in the Senate tomorrow, with a 1 p.m. cloture vote expected to set up final passage of a six-week CR. That bill, we learned today, will likely not include an amendment adding border security funding that a small group of senators had explored in an effort to make it palatable for House Republicans.

RonJohn’s Plan B: Shortly before the Senate gaveled closed for the day, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) — who has close relationships with House Freedom Caucus members — tried fast-tracking an alternative to the leadership-negotiated CR: a two-week clean patch that would not include Ukraine funding, disaster aid or other ride-alongs.

Appearing on the floor, Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) objected to Johnson's effort to fast-track the CR, arguing it would effectively put matters back in the same place come mid-October.

"We have before this body a carefully negotiated, bipartisan CR,” Murray said. “That is where our attention needs to be."

— Daniella Diaz, with assist from Caitlin Emma

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DIFI’S LEGACY CONTINUES

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the longest-serving female senator, died in her Washington home on Thursday night.

The immediate coverage highlighted many storied episodes from her path-breaking career — from her ascension in San Francisco politics to her rise as a force in the Senate, taking on powerful interests in the gun lobby and the intelligence community — and set aside her more recent diminished state, hobbled by serious health challenges.

Feinstein’s death had one prominent senator whose faced his own health issues questioning the critical media coverage that the California Democrat received during her final months in office.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) said the narrative, driven by Feinstein’s apparent loss of mental acuity and a long absence due to shingles, amounted to “ganging up on older members of the body and the president and other people about their age and are they fit to serve and everything like that.”

“I think everyone's entitled to dignity,” Fetterman continued. “How about just remembering, ‘Hey, why don't we have that kind of factor in before really counting on and using unflattering pictures and [chasing] clicks?’”

Fetterman’s remarks come at a timely moment as Washington’s “gerontocracy” comes under continued scrutiny, with 80-year-old Joe Biden and 77-year-old Donald Trump seemingly headed to a presidential rematch and 81-year-old Mitch McConnell facing questions of his own.

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a longtime friend and neighbor of Feinstein, summed up her fellow California Democrat’s legacy in just five words on the House floor Friday.

“She left on her own terms,” Pelosi said.

What her absence means in the Senate: California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, committed to appointing a Black woman to succeed Feinstein until voters select a replacement in next year. If past is prologue, that decision will come fast: Of the 12 Senate vacancies over the past decade, none went unfilled for more than 10 days.

With bipartisan action expected on any shutdown-related legislation in the Senate, her vote might not be immediately needed on the floor. But Feinstein’s death also leaves a hole on the closely divided Senate Judiciary Committee, with implications for Biden’s judicial nominations. Republicans are suggesting they won’t object if Democrats fill the vacancy, KTM reports.

— Daniella Diaz, with assist from Burgess Everett 

A message from The Coca-Cola Company:

PSA: Federal workers, contractors and anyone of any profession who aren’t getting paid for the duration of the shutdown who need meals can email [email protected] for help.

Some good news for book lovers amid the potential shutdown.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, a shutdown veteran, wades into the discourse.

Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) hard-launched his marriage on Twitter with a post about Feinstein.

Rep. Mike Gallagher, the chair of the House Select Committee on China, has introduced the Deterring Attempts at Dirty Deals by Youngsters Act ... otherwise known as the DADDY Act.

The government shutdown has gone mainstream.

GO INSIDE THE CAPITOL DOME: From the outset, POLITICO has been your eyes and ears on Capitol Hill, providing the most thorough Congress coverage — from political characters and emerging leaders to leadership squabbles and policy nuggets during committee markups and hearings. We're stepping up our game to ensure you’re fully informed on every key detail inside the Capitol Dome, all day, every day. Start your day with Playbook AM, refuel at midday with our Playbook PM halftime report and enrich your evening discussions with Huddle. Plus, stay updated with real-time buzz all day through our brand new Inside Congress Live feature. Learn more and subscribe here.

QUICK LINKS 

What happens if the government shuts down: An illustrated guide, from Amy O'Kruk and Tami Luhby at CNN

The jockeying for Dianne Feinstein’s seat has already begun, from Melanie Mason, Jeremy B. White and Christopher Cadelago

Feinstein’s Demise is a Warning for Biden and Trump, from Alexander Burns

Dianne Feinstein’s final day in the Senate, from Noah Bierman and Doyle McManus at the Los Angeles Times

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“The structure of this system is what allows us to have such an impact,” says Jennifer Mann, The Coca-Cola Company’s senior vice president and president of North America. “From the employees in the plants to the drivers in the trucks, our bottlers operate across a range of job sectors that make up the fabric of the American economy.”

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TRANSITIONS 

Naomi Lake has been promoted to legislative director for Rep. Jesús “Chuy” Garcia (D-Ill.).

Nick Crocker is now senior adviser and director of coalitions for the House Energy and Commerce GOP. He most recently was deputy staff director for the House Administration GOP.

Shannon Geison will be campaign manager for Mondaire Jones’ New York congressional bid. She previously was chief of staff for Rep. Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.).

SATURDAY IN CONGRESS

The House is in session and will have votes.

The Senate is in session and is expected around 1 p.m. to vote on advancing the continuing resolution to fund the government.

SATURDAY AROUND THE HILL

Stay frosty.

THURSDAY’S ANSWER: Florencio Briones correctly guessed that “Shut down” is the name of a hit single by Korean girl group BLACKPINK.

TODAY’S QUESTION: The first shutdown during President Donald Trump’s tenure was related in part to disputes over this program.

The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to [email protected].

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Follow Daniella on X at @DaniellaMicaela.

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