House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) is urging GOP leaders to cobble together a one-day spending bill to prevent the government from shutting down at midnight Thursday night.
“With only hours to act and avoid another Trump shutdown, I urge Speaker Ryan and Leader McCarthy to bring to the Floor a one-day funding bill to keep the government open,” Hoyer said in a statement, referring to Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
“Given that the Senate still has not passed its bipartisan agreement because Senate Republicans are feuding, time is running short for them to keep the government’s lights on. Republicans control the House, Senate, and the White House, and it is their responsibility to bring a bill to the Floor to keep government open tonight,” Hoyer said.
“Democrats do not want to see the government shut down and are prepared to vote for a one-day measure if it is brought to the Floor.”
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Several lawmakers said they believed Ryan and McCarthy had prepped a one-day stopgap spending measure. But Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong brushed aside questions about such a short-term bill.
“There will be a vote on the budget agreement to keep the government open just as soon as it gets here from the Senate later tonight,” she said.
Hoyer issued the statement after Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) delayed a Senate vote Thursday night on a funding bill to prevent a government shutdown, putting Congress’ timeline on the spending measure in limbo.
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said Thursday night that they had alerted federal agencies that they should prepare for a funding lapse while urging lawmakers to pass the Bipartisan Budget Act.
Paul had said earlier Thursday that he believed he had the votes to pass the budget deal to avoid a shutdown. But some late drama emerged in the Senate, with Paul demanding 15 minutes of debate and a vote on an amendment to keep budget ceilings in place.
The Kentucky Republican signaled that he was willing to delay a procedural vote on the budget bill until early Friday morning, forcing the House to vote on the legislation after the midnight deadline to avert a shutdown.
– Scott Wong contributed to this report, which was updated at 8:27 p.m.