House strikes deal to try and avoid government shutdown

Democrats and Republicans in the House on Thursday reached a deal on a short-term funding bill that would prevent a government shutdown ahead of Friday's Dec. 3 deadline, CNBC reports.

The proposed measure "would fund the government at current levels through Feb. 18," writes CNBC. The House could vote on it as soon as Thursday.

"While I wish it were earlier," said House Appropriations Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) of the February deadline, "this agreement allows the appropriations process to move forward toward a final funding agreement which addresses the needs of the American people."

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However, passing the legislation in the Senate could prove more difficult, The Wall Street Journal notes. Some Senate Republicans have proposed attaching a provision to the bill prohibiting the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccine mandate from taking effect, though Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) opposes any GOP push to delay the bill, per CNBC and the Journal.

If both the House and Senate "resolve a potential shutdown this weekend before federal employees go back to work Monday, it would cause only minimal disruption," explains CNBC. Then, once a short-term spending patch is passed, lawmakers will need to agree on full-year appropriations legislation by Feb. 18.

If the Senate does not pass the stopgap bill in time, it's possible "the government could partially shut down over the weekend" while the upper chamber "moves slowly toward eventual passage," writes Reuters.