Corporate America is breathing a sigh of relief after lawmakers narrowly avoided a chaotic shutdown of the federal government.
Business leaders and economists had warned a shutdown would have hurt the economy by causing vast uncertainty, significant disruptions and hurting confidence.
“While brinksmanship is never the answer, we are pleased that the ‘adults’ stepped up to prevent a shutdown and the direct harm it would have caused to millions of Americans and American small businesses who would have been impacted,” the US Chamber of Commerce said in a statement this weekend.
Up until Saturday, a shutdown looked very likely. But then House Speaker Kevin McCarthy abruptly shifted course and moved to pass a bill with support from Democrats. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law with minutes to spare before the midnight Saturday into Sunday deadline, keeping the government funded through November 17.
The Chamber commended lawmakers who voted to keep the government open on a bipartisan basis and called for Congress to finish the job.
“We urge Congress to use these 45 days to complete the appropriations process, provide the urgently needed funding to support Ukraine in its war against Russian aggression, and take steps to secure the border,” the Chamber said.
Business Roundtable CEO Joshua Bolten also applauded lawmakers for keeping the government open.
“We thank members of Congress for working together to prevent a shutdown and encourage the House and Senate to pass a long-term spending measure as soon as possible,” Bolten said.
Wall Street had a more muted reaction. US stocks drifted mostly lower Monday morning as the political breakthrough was overshadowed by continued concerns about rising bond yields and the Federal Reserve’s fight against inflation.
“The surprising move over the weekend that averted a government shutdown should be a positive for the markets as it alleviates fears of dysfunction in Washington — at least temporarily,” wrote Brian Gardner, Stifel’s chief Washington policy strategist, in a note to clients on Monday.
Gardner noted that there will likely be a move to remove McCarthy as speaker and another potential budget standoff ahead of November 17.
“The era of good feelings might be short lived,” Gardner said.
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