House Speaker Paul Ryan said Wednesday the House is considering extending current government spending levels through April so the Senate can focus on confirming members of President-elect Trump’s administration.
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Ryan, who initially announced a plan to keep the current spending levels running through March, is looking to continue those levels through April with a new so-called continuing resolution. The speaker told reporters this is due to the “very, very crowded” schedule the Senate is likely to deal with after Trump takes office Jan. 20. This move would delay a debate about spending levels another month.
The bill is expected to pass next week before Congress breaks for much of December.
“For the House, we don’t have calendar issues,” Ryan said at the GOP House leadership press confrerence. “In the Senate, we’re beginning to appreciate how much work they have to do to confirm and stand up the new Trump government. They’ve got to confirm Cabinet officials, sub-Cabinet officials. There might be a Supreme Court nomination that’s going to be occurring.
“So given the fact that the Senate is going to have a very, very crowded calendar with all of the confirmations they have to do, we are respecting that fact, and that’s why we’re discussing the timeliness,” Ryan added.
While the House seems to be on board with this idea to accomodate the Senate, Defense Secretary Ash Carter has argued against another continuing resolution, saying it could make it harder to fight the Islamic State in the Middle East.
Speaking to reporters, Ryan also declined to provide details about what will be on the docket in the House when the 115th Congress is seated in January. He said Republicans in Congress and Trump’s transition team are working on a “game plan,” though added they are also still focused on finishing out the current term.
“We’re in the middle of plotting out that transition,” he said. “We meet every day, sometimes more than once a day with the transition team. So at the appropriate time we’ll lay out what our 115th [Congress] game plan is.”
