Schumer announces Senate has struck a bipartisan stopgap government funding deal

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Senate Democrats and Republicans worked over the weekend on a stopgap bill and struck a deal on Tuesday, calling it a “good, sensible and bipartisan bill.”

“This bipartisan CR is a temporary solution, a bridge toward cooperation and away from extremism,” Schumer said during a speech on the Senate floor on Tuesday afternoon. “It will allow us to keep working to fully fund the federal government and spare American families the pain of a shutdown.”

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Schumer said the text would “debut very soon” but that the deal would continue to fund the government at current levels, maintain its commitment to Ukraine, and begin to deliver disaster relief.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) called the deal a “standard short-term continuing resolution,” saying that it buys time for the full appropriations process to play out.

“At the end of the day, a government shutdown would be an unnecessary disruption of the important work of the Senate’s agenda,” McConnell said. “So I would urge each of my colleagues to work this week to avoid one.”

“Sen. Collins, Sen. Murray, and our colleagues on the Appropriations Committee have worked diligently to help the Senate fulfill our commitment to funding the government through regular order. As that important work continues, colleagues in both chambers are rightly concerned about a number of distinct priorities,” he added.

The deal now sets up a showdown with the House, where Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said Ukraine aid should move separately from government funding.

Congress has until Saturday night to pass a dozen appropriations bills that will fund the federal government for another year — or a short-term deal to extend funding while negotiations continue.

McCarthy wants the House to pass a measure to extend government funding for 45 days, but he has acknowledged that he may not have the votes since his right flank fiercely opposes a short-term deal. That group wants Congress to negotiate all 12 spending bills individually.

McConnell issued a warning as House Republicans continue to struggle to move forward on funding.

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“The clearest path forward is a standard short-term continuing resolution. Delaying action on short-term funding doesn’t advance the ball on any meaningful policy priorities,” he said.

Schumer said the Senate intends to move forward with the first procedural vote on the shell of the continuing resolution bill on Tuesday evening.