Lawmakers are set to return to Capitol Hill this week with a growing to-do list and just days before the government is scheduled to enter a partial shutdown. Both parties are blaming the other for the time crunch.
Congressional leaders initially planned to release legislative text over the weekend for the first four spending bills ahead of the Friday deadline. However, negotiations soon began to unravel over policy disagreements, prompting backlash from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
“While we had hoped to have legislation ready this weekend that would give ample time for members to review the text, it is clear now that House Republicans need more time to sort themselves out,” Schumer wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter on Sunday. “With the uncertainty of how the House will pass the appropriations bills and avoid a shutdown this week, I ask all Senators to keep their schedules flexible, so we can work to ensure a pointless and harmful lapse in funding doesn’t occur.”
Meanwhile, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is facing pressure from those on his right flank to demand certain policy provisions be attached to any kind of spending legislation — a move that would all but ensure Democratic opposition. And with such a short timeline, Johnson is going to need to rely on Democrats to get a funding deal across the finish line.
If lawmakers do manage to come to an agreement on the four spending bills that are set to expire on Friday, Johnson would likely need to expedite their passage by bringing them to the floor under suspension. Doing so would raise the majority threshold needed to pass the legislation from a simple majority to two-thirds of the chamber, meaning Democratic support would be needed.
That’s likely to spark backlash among hard-line Republicans who have previously lamented relying on Democrats to pass legislation. Schumer criticized Republicans for that opposition, calling on Johnson to reject the demands of his conservative colleagues.
“Unfortunately, extreme House Republicans have shown they’re more capable of causing chaos than passing legislation,” Schumer wrote. “It is my sincere hope that in the face of a disruptive shutdown that would hurt our economy and make American families less safe, Speaker Johnson will step up to once again buck the extremists in his caucus and do the right thing.”
Johnson shot back at Schumer, accusing the Senate leader of promoting “counterproductive rhetoric” while lawmakers continue to come to an agreement. Moreover, the speaker claimed that part of the reason negotiations fell apart over the weekend was because of new demands from Democrats.
“Despite the counterproductive rhetoric in Leader Schumer’s letter, the House has worked nonstop, and is continuing to work in good faith, to reach agreement with the Senate on compromise government funding bills in advance of the deadline,” Johnson said in a statement. “At a time of divided government, Senate Democrats are attempting at this late stage to spend on priorities that are farther left than what their chamber agreed upon.”
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Johnson and Schumer will meet with President Joe Biden as well as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) on Tuesday to further discuss the looming shutdown deadline. It’s not yet clear whether lawmakers will focus on passing the individual spending bills ahead of the deadline or if they’ll advance a stopgap measure to buy more time.
The first batch of bills set to expire at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday provides funding for Agriculture; Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; Transportation, Housing and Urban Development; and Energy and Water. The deadline to pass the remaining appropriations bills is March 8.
