House Republicans on Friday advanced a GOP-crafted stopgap bill to avoid a government shutdown, clearing a key procedural hurdle even as some hardline Republicans oppose the legislation. The chamber voted 218-210 along party lines to kick off debate on the continuing resolution (CR) and tee up a final vote expected Friday afternoon. The successful procedural vote marks an incremental win for Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who has worked to coalesce his conference around a short-term funding patch in order to increase the conference’s leverage in funding negotiations with Democrats in the Senate and the White ... (full story)