House Dems averted shutdown amid GOP's 'brinkmanship,' Biden's budget director says

It was Democrats in the House who helped avert a partial government shutdown this weekend, in the final hours before funding ran out amid "brinkmanship" and "theater" by hard-line conservatives, President Joe Biden's budget director argued on Sunday.

"Why to the last minute?" White House Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young told ABC "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl. "I will tell you, if I'm sick of it, I can only imagine what the American people are feeling. Why go down this road? Take us so close."

After increasingly urgent deliberations in the House, Republicans on Saturday introduced a stopgap funding bill that will fund the government until Nov. 17, a near "clean" continuing resolution that did not include the priorities of some in the party.

The measure only passed later on Saturday in the House with Democratic support, as 90 Republicans voted against it and 126 of them voted for it.

"Let me tell you, there were over 200 Democrats who saved us from shutdown. Go look at the votes," Young said on "This Week."

The temporary funding bill was then quickly approved by the Senate and signed by President Joe Biden late Saturday night -- an hour before the midnight deadline. Young on Sunday urged lawmakers to resume work on longer-term funding legislation.

"We need to start today to make sure that we do not have this brinkmanship, last-minute anxiousness of the American people," she said. "Let's do our jobs to not have this happen again. Let's have full-year funding bills at the end of this 47 days."

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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