House Republicans are working to avert a government shutdown with a Friday vote on legislation that funds federal agencies through November 21 and boosts money for security for government officials. But few, if any, Democrats are expected to go along. Their fight to inject health care into the funding debate could mean Congress could fail to approve spending legislation before the September 30 deadline.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Thursday he expected the bill to pass.
"We're going to get this government funded," he said. "We're going to keep the funding going and our appropriators will have more time to do their work."
Republican leaders have repeatedly argued that Democrats regularly support extending current funding levels if Congress is unable to agree on new annual spending bills.
But Democrats, some of whom provided the needed support in March to pass a continuing resolution or "CR," say this time is different. They say millions of people who rely on expanded federal subsidies as part of the Affordable Care Act are at risk of losing their health care coverage if Congress fails to act.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., insisted this week that Democrats will oppose the bill.
"We will not support a partisan spending bill that Republicans are trying to jam down the throats of the American people that continues to gut healthcare," Jeffries told reporters on Tuesday.
Republicans can lose two members in the House and still pass the funding bill in the lower chamber. Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Tim Burchett, R-Tenn. have indicated they're on the fence or voting no.
"I think they'll get it passed," Massie said. "There'll be some squabbles, and some people will… do some horse trading."
The Republican-led House has generally had better odds of passing high stakes legislation with explicit backing from Trump – support he provided earlier this week in a post on social media.
"Congressional Republicans, including Leader John Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson, are working on a short term "CLEAN" extension of Government Funding to stop Cryin' Chuck Schumer from shutting down the Government. In times like these, Republicans have to stick TOGETHER to fight back against the Radical Left Democrat demands, and vote 'YES,'" Trump wrote on his social media site, Truth Social.
It's possible some centrist Democrats could help get the measure through the House, including Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine who voted for the last stop-gap in March.
Even if House Republicans are successful, the senate's top Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Thursday the GOP can't count on help from Democrats to get the 60 votes needed to advance the bill in the chamber.
"Americans are tired of the failed, chaotic, high cost status quo, which decimates their health care, which raises their costs and which Republicans are defending in their bill," Schumer said in a statement.
House and Senate Democrats released their own bill Wednesday to continue funding levels through October 31. Their plan would reverse Medicaid changes made in the GOP-led tax plan that became law in July and extend health care subsidies that will expire at the end of the year. The bill also includes additional money for enhanced security measures for lawmakers, executive branch officials, and members of the federal judiciary.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., called the Democrats' proposal "dirty" and a reversal of strategy after Democratic leaders passed stop gap bills 13 times when they controlled the Senate and Joe Biden was president. Thune said the bill was "packed full of partisan policies and measures designed to appeal to Democrats' leftist base."
Schumer, who voted with Republicans to fund the government in March, is facing tremendous political pressure from grassroots activists to fight Republicans and the Trump administration.
Most Senate Democrats say voting against the spending bill is one way to push back on Trump administration decisions such as cancelling funding for programs Congress previously approved, laying off federal workers and using executive actions to avoid Congressional consent.
"I do not think Democrats have an obligation to fund the destruction of our democracy," Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told reporters on Thursday.
The fight over health care splits congressional Republicans. While no GOP lawmaker voted for the Affordable Care Act and many have spent years attempting to repeal all or part of the law, the program has become popular. And many publicly say Congress should continue some federal subsidies to help working class Americans purchase health plans.
Senate Democrats pressured their Republican counterparts to allow a vote on their proposal as well. Now, Senate leaders are prepared to allow votes on both a GOP spending bill and the version proposed by Democrats.
"Republicans choose: either listen to Donald Trump and shut the government down, or break this logjam by supporting our bill and keeping the government open," Schumer said Thursday on the Senate floor.
Speaker Johnson didn't rule out legislation to address the expiration of the ACA subsidies. He said he didn't think it should be part of this month's funding debate, but was an issue on the table for December.
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