In December, as the House kicked the can on government funding once again, Speaker Mike Johnson was adamant that his conference wouldn’t extend current funding levels when the next deadline came on March 14.
With just seven legislative work days between now and then, however, the House is strapping on its can-kicking shoes and preparing to do exactly that — pass another extension of current funding. And this time, Republicans want to pass a bill that extends government funding until October.
Although appropriators have spent weeks negotiating a top-line funding number, talks have seemingly stalled out over Democratic demands for assurances that President Donald Trump will actually use the funds that Congress appropriates for their intended purposes. Since that’s a nonstarter for Republicans — why would Trump sign a law that hamstrings his own power? — the two parties are locked in a standoff with the clock winding down and a shutdown two weeks away.