Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) took the first step on Thursday in what could become a pitched battle to fund the government past Nov. 17, teeing up a vote on a short-term measure for early next week.
Schumer filed cloture on H.R. 815, a House-passed bill that will serve as the shell for an eventual continuing resolution. He has not shared details of that resolution, but it is expected to be a “clean” CR that funds the government into early December.
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The approach puts him at odds with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who wants to avoid the pressure cooker created by a December funding deadline as members prepare to head home for the holiday recess.
Instead, Johnson wants an extension into January as both chambers work through their remaining appropriations bills.
That may not be the only sticking point. Johnson is weighing a “laddered” CR that would fund some agencies into January and others into February, something Senate appropriators mock as too convoluted.
If he chooses to attach provisions like aid for Israel, money that Schumer wants wrapped into a larger Ukraine supplemental, the bill will face even longer odds.
Johnson is expected to unveil his stopgap by Saturday, with a floor vote no sooner than Tuesday.
Schumer has been careful not to draw red lines in the coming fight. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, he declined to say how he would handle a House CR that includes spending cuts, as Johnson’s Israel bill does, or how long he thinks a CR should last.
But he did warn Johnson against passing a House bill that can only attract Republican votes.
“Passing a bill just with one party and sending it over is not going to be a very good way to move things forward,” Schumer said.
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has not been so circumspect. He called a clean bill the “only way forward” on Wednesday and dismissed the “ladder” approach as a “nonstarter.”
That places Johnson in the same position as his predecessor, who in the face of sky-high demands from his right flank decided to pass a clean stopgap last month that could win Democratic votes.
Johnson, now in his second full week on the job, is unlikely to make that same calculation. Hard-liners booted Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from the speakership following that vote.
That all bodes poorly for avoiding a government shutdown next Friday at midnight.
Schumer faces challenges of his own. The Senate operates by unanimous consent, meaning any one member can slow down consideration of the continuing resolution. In past shutdown fights, that has meant conservatives denying a time agreement that could expedite the process.
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But they can only run down the clock, not prevent its passage, and it is unlikely the institutionalist members of the Republican Party will risk a shutdown.
“People didn’t send me to Washington to shut the government down,” said Sen. Todd Young (R-IN).
Just nine would need to side with Democrats to advance Schumer’s stopgap bill.
