Senior Republican Hill Staff say Government Shutdown is a Distinct Possiblity

The first reason a shut down might happen is that the U.S. House has not decided what to do about the CRomnibus — a new word to describe a CR and/or/fused omnibus spending bill.

The chief issue holding up a consensus is immigration.

If the House passes a bill with a provision to eliminate funding for Obama’s executive order, one staffer said it may actually pass the Senate — explaining that the Democrats ire and anger at the President is real, given their loss of 8 seats, likely soon to be 9 seats that enough Dems may vote for the spending bill with the funding ban in it.

If it passes the Senate, then President Obama would veto it.

If, on the other hand, the Senate strips the provision, then the bill goes back to the House and could fail.

Either way, everyone is back to square one, with time ticking away.