A bipartisan framework to put off a government shutdown appeared to hit snags over the weekend, and lawmakers continued bickering Monday over a federal funding bill that will lay the groundwork for the early days of the incoming Trump administration.
Without new legislation, government agencies will shutter just after midnight early Saturday. Lawmakers are on the cusp of approving a stopgap bill to extend federal funds into mid-March, but new disputes over farm aid and disaster recovery spending have stalled progress near the final stages.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) was widely expected to roll out a bipartisan bill over the weekend to tee up a midweek vote; lawmakers are eager to bolt from Washington to get home for the holidays.
The legislation would push out the government shutdown deadline by three months and include up to $100 billion of assistance for natural disaster survivors and a year-long extension of the major agricultural policy and antipoverty law known as the farm bill.
But during last-minute negotiations, the speaker attempted to tack on more financial assistance for farmers, according to two people familiar with the talks, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Democrats responded by seeking federal funds to reconstruct Baltimore’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge.
Maryland’s congressional delegation, which holds outsize sway on the appropriations process, issued additional demands, too, related to negotiations over future home of the Washington Commanders. The NFL team now plays its home games at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, a venue widely regarded as one of the worst in the league.
The funding bill is expected to include a provision that transfers the land around RFK Stadium from the federal government to the city of D.C., paving the way for local policymakers turn the land over to the Commanders for a new stadium. Maryland lawmakers have put a hold on the funding bill, the people said, until their state can extract concessions from both the NFL franchise and other appropriators to offset the potential loss to their state.
Lawmakers almost universally expect Congress to ultimately clear those roadblocks: A government shutdown ahead of the holidays — and Donald Trump’s inauguration — would have reverberating consequences in the House leadership races.
Still, Congress will have another rapid government funding deadline next year. Johnson has pledged to process all 12 annual appropriations bills and not take up an omnibus funding package when the stopgap expires in March.
But negotiators from both chambers are still far apart on a top-line spending figure. And both chambers’ schedules are jam-packed with priorities for the start of the next term. The Senate will have to confirm Trump’s Cabinet nominees. The House may attempt to pass a budget resolution to queue up tax and border security legislation, potentially putting a robust appropriations package yet again on the back burner.
Without new legislation, government agencies will shutter just after midnight early Saturday. Lawmakers are on the cusp of approving a stopgap bill to extend federal funds into mid-March, but new disputes over farm aid and disaster recovery spending have stalled progress near the final stages.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) was widely expected to roll out a bipartisan bill over the weekend to tee up a midweek vote; lawmakers are eager to bolt from Washington to get home for the holidays.
The legislation would push out the government shutdown deadline by three months and include up to $100 billion of assistance for natural disaster survivors and a year-long extension of the major agricultural policy and antipoverty law known as the farm bill.
But during last-minute negotiations, the speaker attempted to tack on more financial assistance for farmers, according to two people familiar with the talks, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Democrats responded by seeking federal funds to reconstruct Baltimore’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge.
Maryland’s congressional delegation, which holds outsize sway on the appropriations process, issued additional demands, too, related to negotiations over future home of the Washington Commanders. The NFL team now plays its home games at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, a venue widely regarded as one of the worst in the league.
The funding bill is expected to include a provision that transfers the land around RFK Stadium from the federal government to the city of D.C., paving the way for local policymakers turn the land over to the Commanders for a new stadium. Maryland lawmakers have put a hold on the funding bill, the people said, until their state can extract concessions from both the NFL franchise and other appropriators to offset the potential loss to their state.
Lawmakers almost universally expect Congress to ultimately clear those roadblocks: A government shutdown ahead of the holidays — and Donald Trump’s inauguration — would have reverberating consequences in the House leadership races.
Still, Congress will have another rapid government funding deadline next year. Johnson has pledged to process all 12 annual appropriations bills and not take up an omnibus funding package when the stopgap expires in March.
But negotiators from both chambers are still far apart on a top-line spending figure. And both chambers’ schedules are jam-packed with priorities for the start of the next term. The Senate will have to confirm Trump’s Cabinet nominees. The House may attempt to pass a budget resolution to queue up tax and border security legislation, potentially putting a robust appropriations package yet again on the back burner.
