What are the odds of a government shutdown? Latest updates on spending bill saga.
WASHINGTON - Lawmakers in Congress are battling time as they seek to pass legislation that will fund the government and avert a possible shutdown scheduled to take effect at 12:01 a.m on Saturday.
If the government shuts down, most federal employees would be left without pay or be forced to stop working, and services deemed nonessential would be paused.
House Republicans unveiled a spending bill on Saturday that would temporarily keep the government funded until Sept. 30. The bill is known as a continuing resolution.
The House is scheduled to vote on the bill today. But it is unclear if it will pass. Top Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., have already said they will oppose it.
Here’s a look at the latest on the spending bill saga.
Massie is a firm no, other Republicans are undecided
For the bill to pass in the House, Johnson can only afford to lose one Republican vote, assuming that all members are present and voting and Democrats oppose the bill. The continuing resolution requires a majority vote of 217 among the 432 members currently sitting in the House.
Republicans control the chamber by a razor thin margin of 218-214.
But Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has already come out saying he will vote against the bill.
"Unless I get a lobotomy Monday that causes me to forget what I've witnessed the past 12 years, I'll be a NO on the CR this week," Massie wrote on X on over the weekend. "It amazes me that my colleagues and many of the public fall for the lie that we will fight another day.”
President Donald Trump, who previously urged Republicans to support the bill, called for Massie to be primaried in a Truth Social post on Monday. “I will lead the charge against him. He's just another grandstander, who's too much trouble and not worth the fight,” Trump wrote.
Massie is unlikely to change his mind. But that means Johnson can’t lose another vote.
Other Republicans have said they are undecided on whether they will back the bill. .
“I like the fact that we're saving money. I don't like the fact that… we're overall saving money. I love that. But I don't like the fact that we're giving it to the Pentagon, war pimps just always get the money,” Burchett said. The bill includes a $6 billion increase in defense spending.
Will Democrats support the bill?
Jeffries, Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., said in a joint statement on Monday that they will oppose the bill.
“The partisan House Republican funding bill recklessly cuts healthcare, nutritional assistance and $23 billion in veteran benefits,” they wrote.
Jeffries added in a press conference on Monday that “Donald Trump and House Republicans are crashing the economy and hurting hard working American families.”
Even if the bill passes through the House with Republican support, its future in the Senate is still unclear.
At least eight Senate Democrats would need to join Republicans to clear a 60-vote threshold and advance the bill to the floor for a final vote. Though Republicans have a 53-seat majority in the upper chamber, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said he was a firm no on the bill.
Some Senate Democrats have come out against the continuing resolution.
“This is a shutdown bill that’s bad for the economy—let Trump shutdown whatever he wants, hurting everyday folks to use money for tax breaks for the uber-rich. Hell no!” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said last week that Republicans hadn't attempted to negotiate with them on the plan yet.
"We believe, we've always believed, the only solution is a bipartisan solution,” Schumer said.
Johnson told reporters on Monday that “It’s going to be up to Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats to do the right thing and I don't think they're going to shut the government down.”