WASHINGTON — Congress reconvenes this week for its final activities before adjourning, with a key Dec. 20 deadline looming to avoid a government shutdown.
Democrats and Republicans appear to have given up on passing a continuing resolution (CR) that would temporarily fund the government until early 2025 (possibly March), as they run out of time to reach a full funding agreement before the end of the year. is. The two parties have not even agreed on overall spending levels for the new fiscal year, let alone how to allocate funds to government departments.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., hinted at the necessity of a short-term bill on Monday, saying, “We need to eliminate divisive and unnecessary provisions from government funding extensions. It’s going to become increasingly difficult.” CR arrived in time. ”
For Republicans, it’s a double-edged sword.
The advantage for Republicans in not meeting the deadline is that President-elect Donald Trump will return to the White House, Republicans will control the Senate and maintain a narrow House majority, which will help shape government funding in the new year. This will increase their influence.
The big downside is that there will be critical deadlines set early in Trump’s presidency, making it difficult for the Senate to confirm nominees and craft major party-line legislation that Republicans are considering to extend tax cuts and boost immigration. It can take away your time. and the border security agenda.
“We’re going to have to do a lot of things at once,” House Minority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) said of the first 100 days of President Trump’s second term. “I walk while chewing gum.”
Some Republicans may have wanted to avoid running into a funding deadline so early in Trump’s inauguration.
“There are a lot of things that I would like. But realistically, we’re not going to do a budget between now and Christmas. That’s not going to happen,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-Louis.) told NBC News. told. “We expect to get a CR probably by mid-March. We expect the CR to be pretty thin.”
Kennedy added that Congress is likely to attach “$30 billion to $40 billion in disaster relief” to the CR, including money for states hit by hurricanes this year. “It’s not enough, but it’s enough to start,” he said.
Bills are subject to the Senate’s 60-vote threshold, which typically makes funding the government a messy process that requires bipartisan support. Democrats have significant power to enact legislation regardless of deadlines. They currently hold a majority, and starting next year, Republicans will have 53 senators, far short of the 60 they need to take control of the process themselves.
Another move is that passing another big funding measure around Christmas is not a starting point for many House Republicans, especially as the already thin Republican majority shrinks further. The move could jeopardize the chairman’s re-election on January 3. .
Furthermore, if the race for chairman drags on, it could complicate President Trump’s term, albeit in a different way.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office would not comment on the length of the CR period, saying it had not yet been resolved.
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Appropriations Committee that crafts the funding bill, said there is little time.
“Once they decide what they’re going to do, are they going to try to get any of these spending bills done before or are they going to do a CR on every spending bill by March, that’s my question. “I want to say, real discussion. You can’t get it all done,” he said. “Once we get the top-line numbers, we can probably negotiate.” We could probably negotiate a few bills, maybe seven or eight, and get them done by the 20th, but we’ll get that number pretty quickly. you’ll need to.
“So my guess, and this is just my guess, is that we’ll be running a CR for everyone until the end of March,” he said.
