House Speaker Mike Johnson‘s (R-LA) proposal to avert a government shutdown has the support of congressional Democratic leadership as the bid looks likely to succeed even as the process could be slowed by hard-right members of the GOP conference.
The bill that will be considered this week to avert a shutdown on Oct. 1 would fund the federal government through Dec. 20, with no other bills attached, after House Republicans unsuccessfully tried to tie election integrity legislation to the stopgap. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Sunday he was “pleased” with the deal, but he was also worried about delays in the process that could hamper the agreement’s chances if both sides do not work “in good faith.”
“While I am pleased bipartisan negotiations quickly led to a government funding agreement free of cuts and poison pills, this same agreement could have been done two weeks ago. Instead, Speaker Johnson chose to follow the MAGA way and wasted precious time. As I have said throughout this process, there is only one way to get things done, with bipartisan, bicameral support,” Schumer said in a statement. “The government will run out of funding just over a week from today. Time is of the essence, and I hope Speaker Johnson and House Republicans will not waste any more time.”
“If both sides continue to work in good faith, I am hopeful that we can wrap up work on the CR this week, well before the September 30 deadline. The key to finishing our work this week will be bipartisan cooperation, in both chambers,” he added.
In the House, the stopgap has to pass through the Rules Committee on Monday, where three hard-right Republicans could cause trouble for the bill and require it to pass the rule on a floor or pass the bill under suspension of the rules.
Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, had pushed for the SAVE Act, election integrity legislation, to be included with the stopgap, rejecting a clean continuing resolution. But with time running out to avoid a shutdown and failed attempts to move forward the stopgap with the SAVE Act, Johnson is now moving forward without the legislation, which could cause uproar in the Republican conference.
Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY), Chip Roy (R-TX), and Ralph Norman (R-SC), have voted against some key measures, including the foreign aid bill earlier this year, while a part of the 9-4 majority on the House Rules Committee, and they could help sink a vote on the stopgap on the committee — if Democrats also vote to oppose it.
Republican leadership appears likely to get the insurance from Democrats to pass the measure. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) signaled support for stopgap proposal Sunday, proclaiming in a statement that “Congress is now on a bipartisan path to avoid a government shutdown that would hurt everyday Americans.”
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The bid to avert a government shutdown comes as Republicans appear likely to regain control of the Senate in the November elections, but control of the House of Representatives in the next Congress is a toss-up.
If passed, negotiations for the next bill to fund the government through fiscal 2025 would come after the November elections, when control for the House and Senate in the next Congress is decided.
