Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will take the first step toward averting a shutdown on Thursday with one week left until a partial lapse in government funding.
The majority leader announced he would file cloture on a shell bill that will be used to extend funding, declaring from the Senate floor it is “crystal clear” there is not enough time to get the 12 appropriations bills through Congress before the Jan. 19 deadline.
Schumer struck a deal with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to fund the government at the levels the White House agreed to last spring, with a couple of concessions to Republicans, but the two sides still have to hammer out the details of that agreement.
The move does not ensure the government will avoid a shutdown. Even getting an extension through the Senate in a week will be tight, and there is no guarantee Johnson will go along with the plan.
The speaker remained noncommittal on a continuing resolution the day before but had previously sworn off short-term measures. A revolt from his right flank over the spending deal on Wednesday makes a stopgap measure even more politically difficult for him.
Schumer did not say how long his proposed continuing resolution would run, though Republican leadership has suggested funding into March would be necessary to get all bills done. He indicated the first procedural vote would be on Tuesday, after the Martin Luther King holiday.
Conservatives have called for Johnson to use a shutdown as leverage in negotiations over the border. Schumer has defended Johnson from those who would “bully” him over spending but previewed the blame he would assign House Republicans should the country enter a shutdown.
“When the hard right says they want a shutdown, they are saying they want these things: VA closures, no food inspections, delayed military benefits, and so much more,” Schumer said.
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“This just shows you that the hard right is not serious about governing,” he added. “The only tactic in their playbook is to try and bully the rest of Congress and the country to bend to their extremist views.”
The government would not enter a full shutdown if Congress allows funding to lapse. Four appropriations bills expire on Jan. 19, but the remaining eight last until Feb. 2.