House plans to hold omnibus vote on Thursday

The House is planning to vote Thursday on a $1.3 trillion omnibus bill, leaving little time for the Senate to take up the massive funding package before money for the government runs out on Friday.

House GOP leaders told rank-and-file lawmakers on Tuesday that they will file the omnibus bill later in the day, setting up a Thursday floor vote, according to several lawmakers who attended the closed-door meeting.

The omnibus, which would fund the federal government through Sept. 30, could be unveiled as soon as 5 p.m. Tuesday, said a GOP lawmaker familiar with the bipartisan talks. But many Republicans said they expect the bill to come much later given the number of complex issues still left to be resolved.

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GOP leaders had hoped to file the omnibus late Monday night so the House could vote Wednesday, but that deadline came and went. Republicans said they will abide by their own 72-hour rules, which state that legislation must be introduced three days ahead of a vote to give their members enough time to read it.

Among the still-unresolved issues: Lawmakers are trying to decide whether to include funding for the Gateway project, a commuter-rail tunnel linking New York and New Jersey under the Hudson River. President Trump, a New Yorker himself, is threatening to veto the omnibus if it includes Gateway funding.

Republicans also want more money for immigration enforcement, including funding for Trump’s border wall. 

“We’ve made a lot of progress and gotten a lot of our priorities, but we’re still fighting for some items,” said Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong.