Senate Republicans are moving forward with a high-wire act to avoid a government shutdown: voting on a spending bill that includes a measure to defund Planned Parenthood — and then, after that fails, a last-minute effort.
The short-term spending bill that will fund the government through Dec. 11 will likely fail in the Senate, because Democrats have made it clear they will oppose efforts to defund Planned Parenthood. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is then expected to put a "clean" spending bill — which does not include the Planned Parenthood part — up for a vote in a last-minute effort to avert a shutdown.
"We're going to first pass a short-term (continuing resolution) into December," McConnell told reporters Tuesday afternoon.
"It should also give all those who have been offended and appalled by the Planned Parenthood videos an opportunity to defund a portion of Planned parenthood funding," he added.
Senate Republicans' decision to move ahead without waiting for any action from the House comes as the lower chamber remains paralyzed due to conservative members' demand that any bill to fund the government include a measure to defund Planned Parenthood.
Time is short, with the Sept. 30 deadline looming large, and Pope Francis' visit and Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur also constraining Congress this week.
McConnell didn't give a timeframe of when the Senate would take up the clean continuing resolution. "First we're going to take the vote on Thursday and see what happens."
White House hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz, who is leading the efforts to use the spending bill as leverage to defund Planned Parenthood, said the GOP leadership needs to "stand for something" and make defunding the group more of priority.
"The only way to actually defund Planned Parenthood is to include it in must pass legislation like the continuing resolution," he told reporters at the Capitol Tuesday.
"It's the reason why leadership wants a show vote because they know they'll lose instead of exercising their constitutional authority to stop giving taxpayer funds to a private organization that is not part of the government," he said. "This is important to understanding just how radical and extreme President Obama's position is."
Although the Senate is pushing ahead, it's uncertain if Speaker John Boehner, who is under pressure from a group of loud, conservatives in his caucus, will be able to muster enough support for a spending bill that does not include defunding Planned Parenthood.
When asked if he would expect Boehner to take up the Senate's clean bill, Sen. John Thune — the No. 3 ranking Senate Republican — responded with just one word: "Hopefully."
"After the Pope's visit, we'll return to it and be on it next week trying to get it done before Wednesday," Thune said.
Coming out of a GOP Senate caucus lunch meeting Tuesday afternoon, Sen. John McCain told reporters he didn't know if even a clean continuing resolution would be enough to avoid a shutdown. "I honestly do not know what's going to happen."
The push to defund the group follows the release of a series of undercover videos accusing Planned Parenthood of selling aborted fetuses' organs and tissues. The group has denied the claims and Democrats have called the videos a smear campaign based on false, doctored videos.
Senate Democrats on Tuesday accused Republicans of risking a government shutdown over pet causes.
"It's a re-run of issues that have been considered before," said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin. "You have to ask yourself at some point, 'What is the goal of the Republican leadership in the House and Senate?' You would think firstly it would be to keep our government running."