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The House and the Senate are both rolling out versions of a Continuing Resolution (CR) stopgap which would stave off a government shutdown. The problem is that there's no chance either chamber will pass the other's proposal.

The House plan, dubbed the Spending Reduction and Border Security Act, would extend funding through the end of October, but also includes spending cuts of around 30% – with the exemptions of national defense, the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security, and for funding designated disaster relief, The Hill reports.

No Democrats are expected to vote for the House measure, meaning Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) can only lose four Republicans if the full house is in attendance – which McCarthy might not even have, as at least four House Republicans have gone on record opposing any short-term spending measure.

The House Rules Committee will consider the legislation Friday morning before a floor vote.

And if the House bill does pass, it will be dead-on-arrival in the Senate, which will lead to a shutdown.

The Senate, meanwhile, is expected to pass its own short-term CR, however McCarthy and his colleagues won't even bring it to the House floor for a vote, according to the report.

On Thursday night, the US government notified federal workers that a shutdown appears imminent, as the Biden administration begins the formal process of preparing much of Washington to come to a halt on Sunday, according to the Washington Post.

The paychecks of millions of federal employees and military service members hang in the balance, while the looming government shutdown also means closed national parks, passport offices, and potentially more dire interruptions in federal housing, food, and health aid for the economically disadvantaged segments of the population.

Departments such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the IRS are also poised for significant operational challenges, given the potential furloughing of a significant majority of their workforce.

"If you’re 48 hours out from a potential shutdown, but it’s very clear there’s a [deal] on its path, then you might not do that," said Linden, adding "But if there isn’t, you are going to have to tell agencies to tell their teams, so people can start to plan."

Gaetz guns for McCarthy

Amid the turmoil, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) says Kevin's gotta go.

Gaetz has railed against continuing resolutions that he blames for Washington's fiscal dysfunction, Politico reports (and as we predicted, throwing the Freedom Caucus under the bus for the shutdown).

"He wants Kevin," said a Gaetz friend. "That’s it, and everything else revolves around that."

According to senior GOP aides on the Hill and in Trump's White House, McCarthy would constantly shut down Gaetz' ideas which were floated to Trump. For example, during Trump's first impeachment, Gaetz pressured McCarthy to place Freedom Caucus members on the House Intelligence Committee leading the public hearings. McCarthy instead phoned Gaetz and read him the riot act.

"Gaetz has boxed McCarthy in," said one senior GOP aide close to McCarthy's orbit. "People think Gaetz is dumb, but … he’s really smart."