Congressional leaders strike deal to punt government shutdown deadlines

Congressional leaders have reached a deal for a short-term federal funding extension till early March, a supply acquainted advised Fox News Digital, assuaging fears of a partial government shutdown on the finish of subsequent week.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., may have to convey one other persevering with decision (CR) for a vote of their respective chambers this week to keep away from a partial shutdown on Jan. 19.

The deal would prolong funding for some companies and departments by March 1, whereas the rest can be funded by March 8. 

That would preserve intact Speaker Johnson’s “laddered” CR method that handed Congress in mid-November. 

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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, left, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, proper, have reached a deal to keep away from a government shutdown for now, a supply mentioned (Getty Images)

The two-step proposal funded a part of the government till Jan. 19, and the remaining till Feb. 2. The first tranche of deadlines in that plan reckoned with traditionally much less controversial appropriations payments regarding army development and Veterans Affairs; Agriculture; Energy and Water; Transportation and Housing and Urban Development.

The remaining eight appropriations payments, together with these coping with the Justice Department and Homeland Security, have been to be labored out by the February deadline. 

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The aim of separating the 2 deadlines is to make it not possible for Congress to move an all-in-one “omnibus” spending invoice, one thing Republicans throughout the board have opposed. The House GOP has pledged to return to “regular order” by passing 12 single-subject appropriations payments as a substitute.

It’s not instantly clear if the small print stay the identical within the new CR, and legislative textual content isn’t but obtainable. The March CR plan was first reported by Punchbowl News.

The deal would preserve in place Johnson’s “laddered” CR method (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

A brief-term government funding patch is sort of sure to be opposed by Johnson’s proper flank, who’ve been calling on him to leverage a government shutdown in alternate for extracting conservative border coverage wins for the Democrat-run Senate and White House.

House Republicans have began off the yr with lots of the similar divisions and grievances, mainly over government spending, that the convention noticed final yr. 

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Johnson introduced a bipartisan deal with Schumer earlier this month to set the government’s discretionary spending ranges at $1.59 trillion for fiscal yr 2024. They would additionally honor a side-agreement for an additional $69 billion struck between ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and President Biden, minus $16 billion in added cuts that Johnson negotiated to offset that. 

President Biden and ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy negotiated on government funding final yr (Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg through Getty Images)

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It’s invoked the ire of GOP hardliners who’ve accused Johnson of constant the McCarthy insurance policies they opposed. 

Conservatives have been pushing Johnson to return on the Schumer topline deal. But the speaker mentioned as just lately as Friday that the deal remained in place – a place backed by a lot of the rank-and-file within the House GOP.