The TRCP’s scouting report on sportsmen’s issues in Congress.

The Senate and House are not in session this week.

The week off marks an uncomfortable interlude. Last week ended with turmoil in the House of Representatives when Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) withdrew from the Speaker of the House candidacy pool. As a result, Speaker Boehner has indicated he will now stay on until a replacement has been found. Until then, it’s back to the drawing board for GOP members, since Congressmen Paul Ryan and Trey Gowdy continue to refuse the promotion, despite their party’s encouragement. Rep. Ryan, in particular, is under intense pressure to reconsider his decision and run for the speakership.

The turmoil in the House significantly complicates efforts from Senate Majority Leader McConnell and the President to reach a budget deal that would set funding levels through 2016, maintain the solvency of the highway trust fund, and raise the debt ceiling before November 5. With Boehner’s lame-duck status and no agreed-upon successor, it is unclear whether or not Boehner can corral his restive caucus into supporting a budget deal in the time remaining. It certainly looks like McCarthy’s withdrawal from the Speaker’s race slightly increases the odds of a government shutdown when the current CR expires on December 11.

Let’s hope everyone’s brainstorming budget solutions (preferable ones that include reauthorization of LWCF and a healthy investment in conservation) back home in their districts.