House Republicans’ new stopgap spending measure is already making its way through the House Rules Committee, which gaveled in at 8 a.m. to get moving on the latest bid to avert a government shutdown when funds run dry this weekend.
The bill, released overnight, includes nearly 30 percent cuts to non-defense agencies and discretionary programs and significant policies from the Republican border bill which make it a nonstarter in the Senate. The Defense, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security departments are spared from the steep spending cuts in this latest bill.
The bill would fund the government for 30 days and launch a 16-member fiscal commission made up of lawmakers and outside experts that Speaker Kevin McCarthy has long shown interest in.
Friday action: McCarthy is set to speak to reporters at 10 a.m. ahead of another round of high stakes votes that will be a measuring stick for his speakership and control of his conference.
The House will vote Friday, first on the rule setting up debate on the continuing resolution and then on the CR itself. Even with the border policies and dramatic spending cuts, McCarthy still may not have enough votes in his conference to pass the CR.
McCarthy told reporters late Thursday night that if the CR goes down Friday he “still has time to do other things.”
House and Senate leaders are not yet coordinating on a deal that could clear both chambers to avert a lapse in funding, instead with less than 40 hours until the deadline a shutdown is all but guaranteed.
Overnight wins and losses: House Republicans were able to pass three GOP-led spending bills Thursday night, Defense, Homeland Security and State-Foreign Operations bringing their total up to four. (They passed Military Construction-VA back in July.)
The Agriculture bill was toppled, as dozens of Republicans had already pledged to oppose the bill due to steep cuts in farm programs and an abortion medication policy.
A Ukraine aid bill, stripped out of the Pentagon funding measures, passed with Democratic support.
Senate scene: The Senate is working on its own stopgap bill, which could see a vote Saturday just hours before a shutdown, but timing is still fluid. There is a side deal on border policy cooking, led by Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), that could end up in the stopgap to try and garner support from the House GOP.
