House Republicans are tentatively planning to push a rushed vote Saturday on a temporary government spending measure that avoids cuts to federal agencies and provides billions to replenish the nation’s disaster funds.
Just hours away from a US government shutdown as existing funding expires at midnight, Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his lieutenants are presenting details of the bill to rank-and-file GOP members at a closed-door conference at 9:30 a.m. in Washington
While the duration of the proposed bill to extend existing spending levels isn’t settled, it’s likely to run for 45 days, a House GOP official familiar with the discussions said.
Read more: GOP Has Lots of Ideas to Halt a Shutdown But Can’t Agree on One
There were no immediate details on how much funding would be attached toward the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund. No other strings are attached to the bill, the person said.
Even so, McCarthy can’t count on the measure to pass the House after his plan to keep the government open for 31 days — and temporarily cut funding for most agencies by 30% — was embarrassingly defeated on Friday. Hard-liners in his party joined Democrats in opposing it.
Democrats likely wouldn’t support the newly crafted proposal either, the official said. But McCarthy’s lieutenants believe it has a chance to pass in the narrowly divided House, while acknowledging it’s difficult.
Options and time are running short. Even if this bill passed, it would need to be embraced by the Democratic-led Senate to avert a government shutdown on Sunday morning.
