Lawmakers in Congress are once again scrambling to pass a stopgap bill to avert a partial government shutdown with a deadline slightly less than two weeks away.
During an interview on NBC News’ “Meet The Press,” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said the House was working on a continuing resolution (CR) that would extend funding at current levels while the Trump administration implements spending cuts through its Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) endeavor led by Elon Musk.
“We are working hard to do our responsibility to keep the government open. The Democrats have to help negotiate this, and they’ve — to this point — shown no interest in finding a reasonable solution for that,” Johnson told moderator Kristen Welker.
He added, “We’re looking to pass a clean CR to freeze funding at current levels to make sure that the government can stay open while we begin to incorporate all these savings that we’re finding through the DOGE effort and these other sources of revenue that President Trump’s policies are bringing to the table. And then for FY26, for the next fiscal year, you’re going to see a very different process and a lot more efficient and effective spending for the people. We look forward to that.”
A partial government shutdown, in which non-essential federal employees will be furloughed while workers performing critical duties such as air traffic control or law enforcement will stay on the job without pay — at least in the short term, is set to begin on March 15 if a funding bill is not passed in time. It was only months ago, in December, that lawmakers resorted to the last CR that extended funding through mid-March.
On Thursday, Trump called on Congress to pass a new CR that lasts until the fall. He also pinned the government’s inability to follow the normal appropriations process, in which lawmakers would pass separate bills for 12 areas of federal programs for a given fiscal year, on former President Joe Biden.
“As usual, Sleepy Joe Biden left us a total MESS,” Trump said on Truth Social. “The Budget from last YEAR is still not done. We are working very hard with the House and Senate to pass a clean, temporary government funding Bill (‘CR’) to the end of September. Let’s get it done!”
Republicans have a slim majority in both the House and Senate, meaning they would have to stay largely united to pass a “clean” CR if the Democrats stick together and oppose the effort.
So far, on the Senate side, passing a CR seems possible.
“We’re keeping all options on the table, but we are running out of time. … Realistically, we have to think about how can we fund the government, make sure there isn’t a government shutdown,” Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said last week. “And I only remind people that we are in this position because last year, even after the Senate Appropriations Committee passed 11 of the 12 appropriations bills out of the committee, the Democrats under leader [Chuck] Schumer didn’t bring a single appropriations bill to the floor of the United States Senate. And they were available for the last six months of last year. So we have a pileup right now created by the Democrats’ own making.”
However, some GOP lawmakers in the House have signaled or declared outright they would oppose the CR, indicating such a measure would need bipartisan support to get through the lower chamber.
“A continuing resolution (CR) is bad for our military and weakens our national security. A CR means new weapons programs cannot get started. A year-long CR means we are not serious about building a military that will deter China, Russia and Iran,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) said in a post to X.
Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said, “I am a NO on the CR. Congress needs to do its job and pass a conservative budget! CR’s are code for Continued Rubberstamp of fraud, waste, and abuse.”
With a statement on Sunday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), indicated that Democrats are open to negotiating with the GOP on a deal that would avert a partial government shutdown, though he claimed Republicans have withdrawn from discussions that could lead to a bipartisan agreement.
“House Democrats are committed to funding the government in a manner that promotes the economic well-being, health and safety of everyday Americans,” Jeffries said. “The top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, Rosa DeLauro, remains ready, willing and able to talk with our Republican colleagues, but there has been zero outreach from the Trump administration and House Republicans have walked away from the negotiating table.”
During the interview on “Meet The Press,” Welker noted that Republicans now control the White House, the House, and the Senate. She then asked, “So isn’t it on Republicans to keep the government open, and will you do so?”
Johnson replied: “Well, government funding is always bipartisan. We — you have to have partners on both sides of the aisle to do it. And we need our Democrat colleagues to come to the table and be reasonable about that. They want to use government funding as some sort of weapon against President Trump and his administration and that is not the way this is supposed to work. Republicans are going to do the responsible thing. We’re going to do our duty and keep the government open. And we’re working in good faith, negotiating in good faith with our colleagues in Congress to get that done. And I hope everyone will come to the table and do their job.”
In his statement, Jeffries also made reference to a budget resolution narrowly passed last week by the House that outlined fiscal priorities for a future bill in line with Trump’s domestic agenda priorities in areas such as national defense, border security, and tax cuts.
“As the recent budget resolution vote made clear, there will be no support for partisan legislation that fails to protect the quality of life of the American people, most importantly with respect to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid,” Jeffries said. “Unfortunately, it appears that Republicans, who control the House, the Senate and the presidency, are once again determined to shut the government down and hurt everyday Americans.”