What happened
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) unveiled a stopgap spending bill Sunday that would fund the federal government through Dec. 20, averting a partial shutdown weeks before the November election. The deal — negotiated with and welcomed by Democratic leaders after Johnson failed to pass a partisan stopgap bill last week — would finance the government at current spending levels and boost Secret Service funding by $231 million to better protect presidential candidates during the campaign's final stretch. Existing funding runs out Sept. 30.
Who said what
Passing this "very narrow, bare-bones" continuing resolution is "not the solution any of us prefer," Johnson said to House Republicans in a letter on Sunday, but it's the "most prudent path forward" given the circumstances. "As history has taught and current polling affirms, shutting the government down less than 40 days from a fateful election would be an act of political malpractice."
Johnson's first offering was a six-month continuing resolution paired with separate legislation that would require proof of citizenship for federal voter registration. Fourteen House Republicans joined most Democrats in voting it down. Donald Trump, whose assassination attempts prompted the boost in Secret Service funding, urged Johnson to shut down the government unless the spending package included "every ounce" of the citizenship measure. "Noncitizen voting is already illegal in federal elections," The Washington Post said, "and cases of voter fraud committed by noncitizens are exceedingly uncommon."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Johnson "wasted precious time" with his "MAGA" bill, when the only path forward was always "bipartisan" and "bicameral."
What next?
The House is expected to pass the bill on Wednesday. Schumer said the spending package can pass through both chambers this week "if both sides continue to work in good faith."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Judge halts firings during government shutdownFeature A federal judge blocked President Trump’s plan to cut jobs tied to “Democrat programs,” ruling that his administration violated layoff laws during the shutdown
-
Will Republicans kill the filibuster to end the shutdown?Talking Points GOP officials contemplate the ‘nuclear option’
-
Could air traffic controllers help end the government shutdown?Today’s Big Question The controllers were crucial in ending the last shutdown in 2019
-
Government shuts down amid partisan deadlockFeature As Democrats and Republicans clash over health care and spending, the shutdown leaves 750,000 federal workers in limbo
-
Why is this government shutdown so consequential?Today's Big Question Federal employee layoffs could be in the thousands
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoffSpeed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
Shutdown: Democrats stand firm, at a costFeature With Trump refusing to negotiate, Democrats’ fight over health care could push the government toward a shutdown
-
Trump’s plan for a government shutdown: mass firingsIN THE SPOTLIGHT As lawmakers scramble to avoid a shutdown, the White House is making plans for widespread layoffs that could lead to a permanent federal downsizing
