Mitch McConnell, Senate Republicans want another extension to dodge a government shutdown. Here's why.
WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans want to once again extend current government funding levels, likely into March, in order to buy more time to avoid a shutdown and negotiate spending bills.
It would mark the third time Congress has pushed its own deadline to fund the government in recent months. Now, lawmakers are racing to meet deadlines on Jan. 19 and Feb. 2 in order to keep the government's doors open for Americans.
"Obviously we're going to have to pass a CR," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters Tuesday, referencing a continuing resolution, a measure that would temporarily extend current government funding levels. "It's up to the speaker and the majority leader to determine the length."
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, said an extension into March would be most likely for lawmakers because it’s going to “be hard with the time we have" to complete critical spending legislation.
“It seems to be that we ought to allow some time to do some work on the other bills,” Thune said. “The idea that we’re going to get those done in the next week, or even for that matter by Feb. 2… is unrealistic.”
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Lawmakers still don’t have a spending cap for each section of the government that needs to be funded, even after months of focus on avoiding a government shutdown. Those would be negotiated between Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., and House Appropriations Chair Kay Granger, R-Texas.
“The longer that takes, the more difficult it’s going to be to meet the first deadline," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, ranking member of the Senate Appropriations panel.
Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, also called an estimated extension into March "a fair statement."
The proposal from Senate Republicans is likely to put them at odds with their colleagues in the House. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., under pressure from the right wing of his caucus, pledged in November not to approve another short-term extension after the measure that kept the government open into 2024.
Asked Tuesday evening whether another extension is needed, Johnson said the House has "the pedal to the metal."
In mid-November, Congress approved a novel two-tiered funding extension: Funding for federal transportation programs, housing and food plans and other resources are set to expire on Jan. 19. The deadline for the Departments of Health and Human Services, Commerce, Labor, State and Defense comes two weeks later on Feb. 2.
If Congress doesn't meet those deadlines, officials and federal agencies not deemed "essential" in those categories will have to stop their work. Thousands of federal employees would be furloughed, and it could hit nutrition benefits and other programs Americans rely on, even if they don't work for the federal government.
But work on funding those agencies largely fell by the wayside between November, when the extension was passed, and early January. On Sunday afternoon, Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced an agreement on total funding levels that adhered to a previous deal struck between former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and President Joe Biden.
If lawmakers approve another continuing resolution (an extension of existing funding levels), there will be an across-the-board government spending cut due to that deal. It was originally intended to bring both sides to the table, but new budget estimates show the cuts would disproportionately impact nondefense spending.
That agreement added to conservatives' frustration with their new speaker. The right wing of the House GOP caucus forced McCarthy out over the first funding extension, demanding further cuts to the federal budget. While many of those ultraconservative lawmakers were opposed to Johnson making the same move in November, they didn't threaten to replace him as well.
However, hardline Republicans' reaction to the new agreement indicates that honeymoon period may be coming to a close.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, called the deal "a slap in the face" to House Republicans.
"We are left only with the glimmer of hope that Republican leadership will fight to secure the aggressive riders necessary to even remotely salvage this year’s appropriations process," he wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Ken Tran contributed.