Congressional leaders and the White House have not yet struck a deal to keep most government agencies open beyond Friday, raising the possibility of a major agency shutdown as early as this weekend, according to people familiar with the talks. ing.
A big part of the challenge is funding the Department of Homeland Security, with security at the southern border a central issue in the 2024 campaign.
Sticking points give you a chance to save time. Even if negotiators cut off a deal on DHS funding, it would still be several days before any major legislation passes Congress.
Lawmakers had aimed to release the bill text Sunday night, but it now looks increasingly likely that the text won't be released until Tuesday at the earliest.
After months of dodging an eleventh hour shutdown with stopgap bills, Congress finally passed a six-piece bill in early March to fund a range of government agencies for the remainder of the fiscal year. passed, but the work is not over yet.
Many major government operations, including the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education, state governments, and the Legislature, must be funded by the end of the day on Friday, March 22nd. be.
The current fiscal year began on October 1, 2023, more than five months ago. Since then, lawmakers have faced a series of fiscal cliffs as a result of funding deadlines created by short-term extensions.
Two sources told CNN that negotiators are close to reaching a spending agreement to keep the remaining government funding through the fiscal year.
But aides said that while there was general agreement on many elements of the bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security as of Monday night, there was still work left to do on the bill. warns that it may take some time. process.
Many challenges still lie ahead.
Under House Republican rules, leadership needs 72 hours for lawmakers to consider the text of the bill. That means lawmakers could work through the weekend to pass the bill after Friday's deadline has already passed. That would require the consent of all 100 senators for a quick vote, which could be extremely difficult, especially when it comes to funding the bill.
If funding is not approved by the deadline, government operations will cease, but the damage will be minimal if the shutdown is only extended to the weekend.
Negotiators were prepared to move forward with a one-year stopgap measure to fund DHS over the weekend, two people familiar with the negotiations said, but the White House has been slow to push through a year-round spending bill. He is said to have been involved. That is delaying negotiations, the people said.
This DHS funding bill has always been one of the most complex to get across the finish line. Aides say work on funding other agencies, including the State Department, Education and Labor Department, Health and Human Services Department, Treasury Department and Defense Department, has largely been discontinued.
In the House, Speaker Mike Johnson must overcome a razor-thin majority and pushback from the right. Hardline conservatives have expressed anger at Johnson's handling of the fight over government spending, and he relied on both Republican and Democratic votes to pass a six-point funding package earlier this month. There was a need.
The package, signed into law by President Joe Biden, includes funding for the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Interior, Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development, as well as the Food and Drug Administration and military construction. It was included. and other federal programs.
Mr Johnson was elected speaker last year after the Conservatives ousted former leader Kevin McCarthy from the leadership post, and Mr Johnson faced similar threats to the post amid a backlash from the far right wing of the conference. Questions arose as to whether he could be exposed.
Mr. McCarthy's historic and unprecedented ouster sent House Republicans into weeks of turmoil as they struggled to choose a successor, and many Republicans do not want to see that scenario play out again.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
