While members of the House Rules Committee debated the details of a temporary funding measure to prevent a federal government shutdown after Friday, Democratic leaders seemed to soften their stance on the proposal.
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s two-step funding proposal would extend funding for some government agencies through Jan. 19, and a second group of agencies through Feb. 2.
Congress has until midnight Friday to approve additional federal funding to prevent a government shutdown that would furlough hundreds of thousands of federal employees and force others to work without pay.
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told colleagues in a letter on Monday that House Democrats are considering Johnson’s proposal, but “remain concerned” about splitting the resolution into two pieces.
“We are carefully evaluating the proposal set forth by Republican leadership and discussing it with Members,” the letter said.
“House Democrats have made clear that any acceptable continuing resolution must fund the government at the current fiscal year 2023 spending levels,” Jeffries wrote, adding: “We will not accept any extreme right-wing policy provisions in connection with funding the government.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that the Senate will no longer vote Monday evening to advance their version of continuing resolution, waiting to see what the House does with its own proposal.
“We are pausing our plans to move forward on a Senate vehicle to allow the House to move first,” he said. “Bipartisanship is the only way to avoid a government shutdown.”
Schumer added that Johnson’s two-step proposal is “far from perfect,” but refrains from making “steep cuts.”
Several Republican members have already said they would vote against Johnson’s funding plan, meaning that he would need Democratic support to help push his plan over the finish line.
With the expected swearing-in of newly-elected Rep. Gabe Amo (D., R.I.) on Monday night, Republicans cannot afford to lose more than three votes on his proposal.
On Sunday, Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn.) told NBC’s Meet the Press that the priority is to keep the government open past the Nov. 17 deadline, and added that the Speaker’s proposal looks “gimmicky.”
Johnson’s stopgap proposal doesn’t include budget cuts or aid for Israel or other allies.
Murphy said Congress must pass foreign aid before the end of the year, as Ukraine runs out of ammunition and Israel needs support. “There are moments when you can’t fail,” he told NBC.
On
CBS’s
Face the Nation, Rep. Michael McCaul (R., Texas) said lawmakers have to approve aid to Israel, calling the situation urgent and dire. “We can’t sit back and do nothing.” McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was in Tel Aviv Sunday after meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
McFaul said funding for Ukraine, Taiwan, and security at the southern U.S. border are also priorities. “Now whether we handle it all together, or separately…all that has yet to be figured out.”
Many of the Sunday talk shows focused on the continuing conflict in the Middle East amid calls for Israel to pause its bombardment of Gaza to allow for the evacuation of more civilians.
Negotiations over the return of hostages are also ongoing. National security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed to ABC’s This Week that there are discussions involving the Israelis and the Qataris to free the 239 hostages—according to Israel—being held by Hamas.
“We, the United States, are actively engaged in this as well, because we want to make sure that we bring home those Americans who have been taken hostage, as well as all of the other hostages,” Sullivan said.
There are nine missing American citizens, as well as a missing legal permanent resident, Sullivan said.
Write to Janet H. Cho at [email protected]
Read the full article here
