Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y) on Sunday indicated the proposed government funding bill will head to the Senate floor Tuesday, just days ahead of Friday’s looming shutdown deadline.
“Today, I am urging Congress to act quickly and avoid the shutdown. I’m announcing that I will put on the floor of the Senate — legislation — this Tuesday that will keep the government open,” Schumer said Sunday during a press conference. “And I hope we get strong bipartisan support for that legislation.”
Schumer lambasted those from the hard-right flank whom he claims wants to “force” a shutdown.
“A shutdown is the wrong thing to do,” Schumer said. “A majority of Democrats and Republicans don’t want to shut down, but there’s a group — a hard-right group particularly in the House, some in Senate — who want to bully their way into forcing a shutdown. That cannot happen.”
Congressional leaders over the weekend struck a deal to avert a government shutdown, agreeing on a two-step stopgap bill that would set new funding deadlines on March 1 and March 7, sources familiar with the matter told The Hill. The deal came less than a week before the first funding deadline on Jan. 19. The second deadline is on Feb. 2.
The proposal, if approved by Friday night by the House and Senate, would allow both chambers more time to approve the 12 appropriations bills. While the top-line spending numbers for those bills were announced last weekend, more time is needed to work on the particulars of each funding bill.
Schumer on Sunday said he is urging members of both sides to “stand up to the bullies on the hard right” to avoid a government shutdown and “avoid the pain.”
“We need strong bipartisan support in the House and Senate to prevent the shutdown to overcome a band of MAGA extremists who somehow in some dark thinking think a shutdown would be good for America and the American people,” he said.
Conservative House Republicans have typically been against stopgap legislation and GOP leadership striking deals with Democrats. A two-step approach, however, was used last November and was favored by House GOP members who saw it as a way to avoid a whole-of-government omnibus funding bill in December.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in November pledged not to put another stopgap bill on the floor, but last week he confirmed he was “not ruling out anything” as the deadline approaches.
Johnson floated the idea of a long-term continuing resolution last week to a group of moderate Republicans, who nearly all said no to the suggestion, one attendee previously told The Hill.
Schumer on Sunday listed off a series of potential issues caused by a shutdown, and added Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is in agreement that a government shutdown should be avoided.
Text of the continuing resolution is expected to be posted online Sunday evening, according to a spokesperson for Schumer.
The Hill’s Clara Duhon contributed reporting.