(NewsNation) — There’s a growing divide on Capitol Hill. A large group of House Republicans is increasingly not on the same page as Senate Republicans.
The divide could have serious impacts on how the government functions and whether or not the government shuts down.
Republican sources tell NewsNation that many Senate Republicans are frustrated over what they see as a dysfunctional House.
It started with the chaotic race for speaker that dragged out for an entire week.
Referring to House Republicans, Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn told NewsNation partners at The Hill, “Don’t they realize how embarrassing this is? … If it’s this hard to elect a speaker, imagine how hard it’s going to be to pass any legislation.”
They are comments House Republicans did not take too kindly to.
The first real test for both chambers working together is fast approaching.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said this week the U.S. could default on its debt by June unless Congress raises the debt limit.
A default would have catastrophic effects on the global economy. Millions of American jobs could be lost, and markets may crash.
Many hard-line House Republicans say no to raising the debt limit unless they can get serious spending cuts. In some cases, demands may even slash military spending by more than $70 billion.
Republican Senate sources tell NewsNation they won’t accept massive defense cuts from their House colleagues.
Some moderate House Republicans are working behind closed doors with Democrats to find ways to get around the more hardline Republicans who refuse to raise the debt limit.
But Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and other House GOP leaders say their Senate counterparts will have to bend.
“The Senate’s going to have to recognize the fact that we’re not going to budge until we see meaningful reform with respect to spending,” said Rep. Jim Comer (R-Ky.).
McCarthy took a shot at Senate Republicans this week saying while House Republicans have been working to pass major bills, the Senate hasn’t even been in session.
“The one thing I would say is, why don’t you force the House and Senate both produce a budget,” McCarthy said. “They don’t produce a budget so you know they’re wasting money.”
This week, we expect to learn a lot more about how the House plan to tackle the debt limit fight. What one lawmaker said he expects to be a “knife fight.”