House Republicans eye vote on short-term funding plan slammed by Democrats
Speaker Johnson is seeking to pass a bill with GOP votes alone. The government will shut down one week from today unless the House and Senate can agree on a funding package.
WASHINGTON — Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Friday he will bring a “clean” stopgap funding bill to a House vote next week to avert a government shutdown, as Democratic leaders blasted the emerging legislation by warning that it could cut money for health care, nutritional assistance and veterans benefits.
That leaders from the two parties haven’t agreed on a path to keep the government open yet raises the chances of a shutdown at the end of next Friday, when federal funding expires.
Johnson hasn’t yet unveiled the measure, known as a continuing resolution or CR, but has said it would keep the government’s lights on through the current fiscal year that ends Sept. 30.
Bipartisan talks have hit a wall and Johnson is seeking to pass the bill with only Republican votes. But he has a razor-thin 218-214 majority, and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has already said he will vote against the stopgap bill. That means Johnson cannot afford another GOP defection.
The speaker is also grappling with some of the near-term spending changes requested by the White House — like higher immigration enforcement funding and cuts to the IRS — though it’s not clear which provisions will make it into the bill. And Democrats want guardrails to prevent President Donald Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musk from unilaterally slashing agencies and spending directed by Congress.
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