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ch osen…potentially past October 30. Currently, McCarthy plans to remain majority leader, meaning there will be no election for majority leader or majority whip. In the interim, one option is that the caucus finds someone to fill the speakership on a temporar y basis; another option is that Boehner stays until 2016. Boehner has said that he is confident that the House can elect a new speaker in the coming weeks. Speaker Candidates : Republican members are hoping to unite around a new permanent speaker, but a lac k of viable candidates who can win the support of the majority of the conference has thrown the party into turmoil. House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan has sustained peer pressure to run for speaker, but so far he has not budged. Rep. Ryan is currently the only member who would clear the field if he ran for speaker. Should he decide to run for speaker though, GOP leaders would need to appoint a new chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. Other possible candidates for speaker include Rep. Bill Flores o f Texas, Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Rep. Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia, Rep. John Kline of Minnesota, Rep. Peter Roskam of Illinois, Rep. Mike Pompeo of Kansas, Rep. Mike Conaway of Texas, Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon and others. BUDGET TALKS REMAIN QUIET : Lawmakers have been hoping to craft a long - term budget deal in time for the December 11 deadline, one that could address several items including sequestration cuts, the debt limit, and FY 16 funding. However, McCarthy's news has caused confusion su rrounding those discussions. Members from both parties are expressing concern about what Congress will be able to accomplish in the next few months. Some argue that this could strengthen Speaker Boehner's ability to push harder for a budget deal before he leaves Congress and vacates the gavel; others are concerned that the McCarthy exit places extra strain on a calendar that is already filled with important deadlines. The bottom line is that there is a lot of unknown about what the next three months will lo ok like. Depending on whether Boehner stays or go, and what type of Republican eventually fills his shoes, the caucus will either remain gridlocked or potentially become very productive with a packed agenda. Timeline & Scope : Before the House and Senate l eft town for the Columbus Day recess, budget details still had not surfaced, as most attention has shifted to the surprising GOP leadership announcement. Negotiations have remained at the staff level for the most part, and members of congress and staff ali ke are remaining quiet on the progress. Congress will need to negotiate new spending levels before December 11 if they want to do away with sequestration, and President Obama has said he will veto any long - term spending bill that adheres to current spendin g caps. A potential budget package could address sequestration caps and an increase in the debt ceiling (more on those issues below). APPROPRIATIONS : Congressional appropriators are calling on budget negotiators to wrap up a deal as early as possible in o rder to prepare appropriations bills in time for the December 11 fiscal deadline. In the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has bundled 11 of the 12 FY 2016 spending bills into four groups, known as " minibuses, " for potential floor consideration at an unspecified date. All have been approved by Senate appropriators but are likely to be blocked by Democrats. This would give McConnell an opportunity to pressure Democrats by putting them on the record on packages of FY 2016 bills. THUD Update : An infrastr ucture minibus is already grouped to include the FY 16 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bill (H.R. 2577) among 2 other appropriations bills. As you may remember, the House passed their version of the THUD appropriations b ill earlier this year in June. The Senate