Congress

‘The Clock Is Ticking’: Republicans Are Unexpectedly Careening Toward a Government Shutdown

“We’re doing the best we can with the cards we have and the players we have around the table,” House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole said.

House Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole

Tom Cole listens as the Rules panel meets to prepare spending bills to fund the government. J. Scott Applewhite/AP

By Riley Rogerson

February 7, 2025 05:30 AM

Republicans are already staring down the possibility of a politically disastrous government shutdown, with funding set to run out on March 14 and lawmakers seeing little reason for any optimism.

“The clock is ticking and running away from us right now,” senior appropriator Rep. Steve Womack told NOTUS on Thursday.

The March 14 deadline, House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole told NOTUS this week, is “getting here faster than I would like.”