McCarthy defeated again by hard-right House Republicans as shutdown looms

Conference fails to approve procedural motion to take up defense spending bill as members clash over government spending levelsThe House Republican speaker, Kevin McCarthy, was dealt his second humiliating defeat of the week on Thursday, when his conference again failed to approve a procedural motion as members continued to clash over government spending levels with just days left to avert a federal shutdown.A proposal to take up House Republicans’ defense spending bill failed in a vote of