Congress voted today to extend the government funding deadlines to March, averting a potential shutdown but also marking the third time that it has failed to meet its deadlines.
After former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed to a deal with Democrats to extend the financial year 2024 funding deadline from September 30 to November 17, hard-right Republicans initiated a motion to vacate, which ultimately led to his removal from the role.
On October 25, Mike Johnson was elected House speaker, and Congress agreed to pass a "laddered" continuing resolution (CR) that extended funding for four government agencies to January 19 and the remaining eight to February 2. However, with little progress made toward reaching a funding agreement since, those deadlines have been extended to March 1 and March 8.
Johnson has pledged that this Congress will fund the government through "regular order," meaning all 12 appropriations bills must pass individually, a feat not accomplished since 1997. However, with Republicans in disagreement on funding levels, the Republican-controlled House and Democratic-controlled Senate could once again struggle to reach an agreement. Seasoned appropriators spoke with Newsweek about what must be done to meet the new deadlines.
"First of all, we've gotta get the numbers [agreed upon]—That's No. 1," Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Appropriations Committee member, told Newsweek. "We're gonna have seven weeks. That's plenty of time to get the numbers and rework our committee's numbers because we've been doing the underbrush kind of work all along, Republicans and Democrats."
Capito, who serves on GOP Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's leadership team, noted that it's incumbent on Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to bring the appropriations bills to the floor for vote. However, with all the bills having passed through the Appropriations Committee in a bipartisan fashion, the heavy internal lifting has already been achieved.
What remains at issue, as Capito pointed out, is the top-line spending levels. Schumer and Johnson reached a top-line fiscal agreement ahead of the extension vote, but some hardline conservatives opposed it, believing it does not do enough to cut spending, and floated the idea of filing a motion to vacate. Rumors circulated that Johnson could walk away from the deal, but on Wednesday he said the top-line agreement "remains."
It appears Democratic lawmakers are moving ahead on drafting these bills under the Johnson-Schumer agreement. Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, who chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, told Newsweek that "people are writing the bills with the intent to get these done by the next deadline."
But whether they can pass these bills through Congress remains the question. At the moment, the Senate has only passed three of the 12 bills. While they succeeded in a bipartisan fashion, doing so took weeks longer than expected, as lawmakers fought over various provisions. The House has passed seven of the 12 bills, but has struggled to move the remaining measures, as Republicans remain intent on putting forth bills without bipartisan support and cannot agree amongst themselves on which provisions should make the final cut.
This infighting over spending levels and conservative priorities, like anti-trans measures and prohibitions on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, have led some conservatives to block the bills from getting votes on the House floor by rejecting the rule vote, which must pass to bring the measure forward.
These tactics have frustrated governance-oriented Republicans who respect their colleagues' views but disavow their tactics, especially as such members have opposed deadline extensions.
"You can't complain legitimately about the train not running on time when you're the one that's blown up the tracks," Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke of Montana, an appropriator, told Newsweek. "I'd like to see regular order, and I'd also like to see members follow a commitment to do regular order and not vote against rules."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Alex J. Rouhandeh serves as Newsweek's congressional correspondent, reporting from Capitol Hill and the campaign trail. Over his tenure with ... Read more
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