House GOP leadership has been frustrated for weeks with Senate Republicans like Ted Cruz (R-TX) for putting the pressure on the lower chamber to defund Obamacare in exchange for funding the federal government. House leaders are convinced a government shutdown would be a political disaster for the Republican Party. But Cruz, Rand Paul, Mike Lee and others kept pressing, riling up the base for a shutdown showdown.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=203767