On Sunday, Republican leaders in the House of Representatives unveiled a plan to secure government funding for three months after Republican Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana’s first attempt to prevent a shutdown failed due to Republican resistance.
The continuing resolution (CR)the result of bipartisan negotiations in the House and Senate, would keep government funding at current levels through December 20 – setting up a fight over holiday funding.
The three-month period is shorter than Johnson’s first offer of a six-month interim solution. In addition, the bill notably excludes a measure supported by Trump that would require proof of citizenship to vote.
Republican politicians want to introduce the bill as part of a regular legislative process. A vote on it is expected by Wednesday, say Republican staff. The bill will then go to the Senate before the shutdown deadline on September 30.
Johnson warned Republicans about a shutdown in a “Dear Colleague” letter on Sunday.
“While this is not the solution any of us would prefer, it is the most sensible course of action in the current circumstances. As history has taught and recent polls confirm, it would be an act of political misconduct to shut down the government less than 40 days before a fateful election,” Johnson said, referring to a Survey by McLaughlin & Associates According to the report, two-thirds of likely voters are against a government shutdown.
The bill also calls for the $231 million to go to the Secret Service, which has again come under fire following an alleged second assassination attempt on former President Trump.
Johnson explained the bill to GOP lawmakers in his letter on Sunday, saying: “Because we missed the finish line a little, an alternative plan is now needed.”
The spokesperson added that the purpose of the pristine, three-month CR was to “prevent the Senate from overwhelming us with a bill full of billions in new spending and unrelated provisions” and that the legislation was a “very narrow, stripped-down CR that only included the extensions that were absolutely necessary.”
House Republicans will almost certainly need lend a hand from Democrats to get the bill passed. Many GOP lawmakers are expected to oppose the bill because of its lack of spending cuts, shorter timeline and exclusion of the voting bill that hardline conservatives and Trump pushed through as part of the final product.
Submitting the bill under the regular procedure rather than the fast-track procedure could pose an obstacle, as the measure would have to go through a procedural vote. Such votes on rules governing debate on a bill are traditionally party matters, regardless of MPs’ opinions on the underlying legislation.
Throughout the legislative session, however, hard-line conservatives have voted against the rules in protest against legislation they disagree with. This opposition, if mighty enough, could prevent the bill from being considered in the House.
The time frame of about three months is the period preferred by defense hawks in the Democratic and Republican parties.
Conservatives, on the other hand, sought a longer transition period until the spring to reduce the likelihood of a massive omnibus spending package at the end of the year and potentially give Trump more say in financing the 2025 budget if he wins the election in November.
In a press conference before the transition text was released, House Republican leadership aides said the three-month timeframe “does not necessarily mean we’re going to have a omnibus resolution in December” – suggesting another fight over funding after the election.
The short-term budget authorization bill is the latest attempt by Republican leadership to force a government shutdown on October 1 after Johnson’s Opening salvo in budget talks failed last weekFourteen GOP lawmakers joined the overwhelming majority of Democrats in torpedoing a six-month CR linked to the election law, the so-called Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act — and thereby dealing a blow to Johnson.
Johnson nevertheless stressed that the six-month CR-plus-SAVE Act was the right “move.” It was intended to focus on the Democrats’ position on election issues and represent an initial negotiating offer, even though Republicans knew that the Democratic-controlled Senate and White House would never approve it.
Democrats point out that non-citizen voting is already illegal and extremely scarce, and worry about a potential burden on eligible voters.
Trump too seemed to complicate matters when he urged Republicans in Congress not to pass CR and force a shutdown unless Democrats agree to the SAVE Act. But Republicans overwhelmingly say a shutdown would hurt them in November. Johnson, who has spoken to the former president about the funding problems, said Friday that Trump “understands the situation” of the Republicans in the House of Representatives.
Democratic leaders in both chambers praised the proposed CR, but sharply criticized Johnson and Republicans for attempting to push through this partisan stopgap last week.
“As a result of a recently initiated bipartisan and bicameral process, the continuation resolution currently under discussion is now consistent with the spending levels agreed to in the Bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act and does not contain the partisan, right-wing policy changes that House Republicans inappropriately attempted to force into the appropriations bill,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said in a statement.
“Upon our return to Washington, House Democrats will jointly review the entire spending bill before it is considered in the plenary session.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.), noting that he has initiated the lengthy process of introducing a funding bill in the Senate, said, “Hopefully this tool will be unnecessary.”
“While I am pleased that bipartisan negotiations quickly led to an agreement on government funding without cuts and poison pills, the same agreement could have been made two weeks ago. Instead, Speaker Johnson chose the MAGA route and wasted valuable time. As I have said repeatedly throughout the process, there is only one way to get things done, and that is with bipartisan, bicameral support,” he said.
This interim solution would keep funding at the level last negotiated by both chambers at the beginning of the year.
This does not include additional funding of $10 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster relief fund, which was already included in the original six-month plan proposed by Republicans in the House of Representatives. However, this also includes replenishment of FEMA’s disaster relief fund.
A Republican leadership aide said negotiations with Democrats over the interim solution were aimed at “putting only the things on the table that are absolutely necessary and leaving everything else off the table.”
The interim solution also lacks funding for the Virginia-class submarine program that was included in the previous Republican-backed plan, as well as additional funding to cover the potential $12 billion health care deficit that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs warned of in fiscal year 2025.
However, the 46-page bill also includes a number of health care expansions for the VA. Among them are measures that the Appropriations Committee said would expand the VA’s authority to provide care for veterans with “war-related disabilities.” It would also expand authority for the Joint Department of Defense-Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Facilities Demonstration Fund.
The step comes after the Congress passed a law last week to address a more pressing $3 billion deficit at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as officials warned that benefit payments to veterans could be suspended next month unless Congress acts.
While the bill also provides funding for the Secret Service, this is money allocated under existing budget limits, not additional emergency funding.
House Republican leadership aides said the funds were “limited to meeting their immediate campaign needs” as Trump and Vice President Harris head into the home stretch of Election Day.
However, Republican leadership officials said the funding was tied to “a number of conditions.” These included meeting the demands of Congress, which oversees the agency. This applies, for example, to the House task force investigating the assassination attempt on Trump in July.
A source familiar with the negotiations said Democrats have pushed for emergency funding for the Secret Service, while Republicans have resisted. A House Republican leadership aide countered that Republicans have pushed for additional funding for the Secret Service, but only within the existing budget cap, including a “fast-spending” program to make more funding available.
A last-minute change increased the Secret Service budget from $187 million to $231 million.
Secret Service Deputy Director Ronald Rowe said earlier this month that the agency has “immediate” and “future needs.” He added: “We also have to make sure we get the staff that we have, and that requires that we have the resources to be able to hire more people.”
Republicans in the U.S. Congress, however, are skeptical about whether the agency should receive more money. Some argue that the agency is dealing with a staffing problem rather than a funding problem.
Updated at 17:35
