No One Wants A Shutdown Fight

So much for the government shutdown members were agitating about over the summer.

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) acknowledged Thursday that Congress will most likely have to pass another stopgap funding measure to keep the federal government running, but neither he nor the president has any desire to shutter the federal bureaucracy as part of their standoff over government spending.

"We have no intention — and I have talked to the president — the president has no intention of shutting down the government," Hoyer said during remarks on the House floor.

The bad news for lawmakers, aides (and reporters) is that Hoyer is tentatively scheduling the legislative business for the first two weeks of December, with the possibility of work that third week.