Lawmakers are set for their final sprint before the November elections. Congress’ main order of business: muscling through a 49-page short-term government funding patch through Dec. 20 to keep the lights on throughout the federal government.
House Republicans unveiled their bipartisan, largely clean compromise effort on Sunday afternoon (Our team has all the details.) and the Rules Committee meets Monday at 4 p.m. to tee up the measure for floor debate. A vote on the floor is expected mid-week.
One thing to watch: How the three hard-line conservatives on the Rules panel — Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) — approach the measure. Leadership could always try to pass the spending patch under suspension of the rules — an expedited process requiring two-thirds support for passage — though that would likely require Democrats to provide a hefty portion of the final votes.
Fourteen conservatives opposed a six-month funding patch last week that included a GOP provision supported by former President Donald Trump requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. And members of that group are sure to be displeased about the latest proposal from Speaker Mike Johnson.
But congressional Democrats indicated Sunday they’ll support it, once again likely providing the votes to get it across the finish line in the Republican-led House.
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer bemoaned in a Sunday statement that “this same agreement could have been done two weeks ago” but expressed hope “we can wrap up work on the [continuing resolution] this week” before the end-of-September deadline.
Any one senator can, of course, slow the chamber’s activities. But remember, lawmakers are anxious to return to the campaign trail as Election Day nears.
As for the rest of the business at hand: Senators will take a vote on a United States Tax Court judge at 5:30 p.m., while the House intends to churn through more than three dozen bills on suspension.
