Congressional leaders unveil bill to avert shutdown

Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Deb Fisher (R-Neb), plus Reps. Mike Johnson (R-La.), Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) — The bill will boost Secret Service funding to better protect presidential candidates during the campaign's final stretch

(Image credit: Kent Nishimura / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.