Federal funding expires at midnight next Friday (File)
Republicans on Saturday unveiled an unusual interim plan to fund the U.S. government, days before a potential government shutdown and little room to pass it through a deeply divided Congress.
New House Speaker Mike Johnson said the two-part bill is “necessary legislation to put House Republicans in the best position to fight for conservative victories.”
In an unusual development, some of the bills needed to reopen the government will be passed in a short-term bill until January 19, while the rest will be deferred until February 2, according to US media reports.
The measure is reportedly intended to buy time for Congress to pass separate spending bills and does not provide funding for Israel, Ukraine or border security.
But some Republicans are already complaining that the plan won’t deliver the funding cuts they seek, and they doubt that Republicans, who have a slim majority in the House, will be able to pass it, much less in the Democratic-controlled Senate. It was unclear whether it would pass or not.
“This bill will stop the absurd holiday omnibus tradition of big spending bills being introduced just before the Christmas holidays,” Johnson told X (formerly Twitter), without giving details. Posted.
He added: “By separating the CR from discussions of additional funding, our conference will be in the best position to fight for fiscal responsibility, oversight of aid to Ukraine, and meaningful policy changes on our southern border. I can do it,” he continued.
Fellow Republican Chip Roy, who lives in Texas, was among those quick to voice his opposition to the party’s right wing, writing on X that his opposition to the plan “cannot be overstated” and complaining that it doesn’t cut spending enough. said.
The White House denounced the proposal as a “recipe for further Republican chaos and another government shutdown.”
“House Republicans are wasting precious time with a frivolous proposal that is hated by members of both parties,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
Federal funding expires from midnight next Friday until Saturday.
If no deal is reached by November 17, the world’s largest economy will immediately start pumping the brakes. 1.5 million government workers will go without pay, most federal facilities, including national parks, will be closed and sectors such as air travel could be forced to slow down.
The U.S. government is now well aware of these last-minute battles for funding, often finding compromises just before or after the deadline.
But Mr. Johnson, a little-known lawmaker from Louisiana with limited leadership experience, is a leader in both the U.S. Senate and a small but influential group of hard-line Republicans who want stricter fiscal tightening. The government faces a delicate balancing act with the demands of the Democratic Party, which controls the Democratic Party. White House.
The last time Congress faced a funding deadline, it was thrown into turmoil at the end of September, when Mr Johnson’s predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, was sacked by his own party in an unprecedented move.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
