Speaker Mike Johnson is trying to put the onus on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democrats to stop a government shutdown. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
Mike Johnson to Chuck Schumer on government funding: Your move.
House Republicans are pushing a not-so-clean spending patch through September that would add billions of dollars for deportations, veterans’ health care and the military — and cut $13 billion in funding for non-defense programs. The speaker is planning to put the stopgap, known as a continuing resolution or CR, on the floor Tuesday, and then send members home for recess before the Senate can send back any changes.
Johnson is aiming to get the CR through the House without relying on Democratic votes (House Democratic leaders reaffirmed Saturday that they’re a “no”). President Donald Trump is publicly pushing GOP lawmakers to fall in line, but Johnson’s still got a few Republican holdouts. Rep. Thomas Massie is a no. And we’re keeping an eye on Reps. Tony Gonzales, who said Sunday on CNN that he’ll make a “game-time decision;” Brian Fitzpatrick, who told CBS he’s undecided; and Cory Mills, who told our Meredith Lee Hill he’s also on the fence.
But the spending patch can’t get through the Senate without the help of at least eight Democrats, given expected opposition from GOP Sen. Rand Paul. And that’s putting Schumer in a bind.
The Senate minority leader and his House counterpart are both under pressure from within their party to do more to stop Trump and Elon Musk’s unilateral cuts to federal programs. Hakeem Jeffries’ caucus can likely oppose the spending patch en masse without prompting a shutdown, but Schumer doesn’t have the same cover. Senate Democrats will have to decide whether they’ll push back on Trump and force a shutdown, or stand down to keep the government running. Johnson’s already trying to cast any lapse in funding as a “Chuck Schumer shutdown.”
Some Senate Democratsseemed open last week to supporting a clean CR. But Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on Senate Appropriations, slammed House Republicans’ weekend proposal as a “slush fund” that would give Trump and Musk “more power over federal spending.” She continued to call for a shorter spending patch to give appropriators time to finish the full funding bills — an outcome also favored by Murray's GOP counterpart, Sen. Susan Collins.
And swing-state Sen. Elissa Slotkin told NBC News she’d “withhold” her vote unless she gets “assurances that whatever we pass … is going to ensure that the money is spent the way Congress intends.” Sen. Tim Kaineposted on X that he's a "hell no" on the bill.
GOOD MONDAY MORNING. We hope you remembered to reset your clocks. FWIW, Sen. Rick Scott has reintroduced a bill to make daylight saving time permanent, and it has bipartisan support.
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THE SKED
The House is in session and voting on a bill to create a DHS working group focused on threats from the Chinese Communist Party, along with other border-related legislation, at 6:30 p.m.
— House Ways and Means Republicans will meet to start drafting the tax portion of the GOP’s party-line bill at 10 a.m.
— Rules will have a hearing on advancing the stopgap funding bill and other legislation at 4 p.m.
— House Republican and Democratic leadership will hold separate private meetings shortly before evening votes.
The Senate is in session and voting on confirming Lori Chavez-DeRemer as secretary of Labor and advancing the HALT Fentanyl Act at 5:30 p.m.
— Senate Republican and Democratic leadership will hold separate private meetings shortly before evening votes.
The rest of the week: The House plans to vote Tuesday on the continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown, and Democrats in the chamber are scheduled to begin their issues retreat on Wednesday. The Senate will take up the legislation later in the week.
THE LEADERSHIP SUITE
Democrats’ shutdown argument
Jeffries has made clear Republicans should not count on House Democrats’ votes to avoid a government shutdown. Rep. Brendan Boylelaid out the core of Democrats’ argument to our Rachael Bade.
“We are already in a partial government shutdown illegally,” Boyle said. “What Republicans are pushing right now is not a continuing resolution. A clean continuing resolution would be what we voted for last December, which was actually all of the appropriations that we voted for being carried out since they have the force of law.”
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POLICY RUNDOWN
House tax writers, led by Rep. Jason Smith, are getting to work today. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
TAX WRITING BEGINS — House Ways and Means Committee Republicans will begin hashing out the overall framework for their tax bill, which can increase deficits by no more than $4.5 trillion, in a lengthy private meeting today, as Meredith and Benjamin Guggenheim scooped last week. Chair Jason Smith has already said that the instructions laid out in the House-approved budget resolution won’t allow for a permanent extension of Trump’s tax cuts, but would allow for an eight- to nine-year extension.
Expect members to discuss offsets and savings options to further reduce the cost of Trump’s long list of tax cut proposals. Tax writers have been considering limitations on deductions for companies and some form of cuts to clean energy credits, among other offsets.
SCOOP: REPUBLICANS REJECT CLEAN ENERGY ROLLBACKS — In a letter shared exclusively with POLITICO, 21 House Republicans are threatening to fight their colleagues’ efforts to undo clean energy tax breaks in the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act, our Josh Siegel and James Bikales report. Republicans had talked about clawing back the tax credits under that law to help pay for a small fraction of the GOP’s multi trillion-dollar budget bill.
PHYSICIAN PAY CUTS PENDING — House Republicans’ funding patch would not avert payment cuts for doctors who treat Medicare patients — a move that risks alienating members whose support will be needed to pass the legislation, our Ben Leonard, Robert King and Daniel Payne report. Rep. Greg Murphy, who co-chairs the GOP Doctors’ Caucus, had called its inclusion a “line in the sand” for winning his support on the larger funding bill.
STILL SOME LOVE IN OKLAHOMA — Rep. Tom Cole said he was able to convince the Department of Government Efficiency to keep a trio of key federal offices open in his home state — the latest example of successful and private GOP pushback to the Trump administration’s cutbacks. The House’s top appropriator said he was able to save a pair of Social Security and Indian Health Service offices, as well as NOAA’s weather center in Norman — the heart of Tornado Alley.
MARK KELLY’S UKRAINE TREK — Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly is publicly questioning why Trump is “trying to weaken Ukraine’s hand” after returning Sunday from a visit to the war-torn country. Kelly added that “we are owed an explanation” for why Trump withheld military aid after his Oval Office blow up with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“Stopping the transfer of these weapons only helps the Russians,” the Arizonan said in a thread on X. Separately, GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday on Fox News that the U.S. should continue to “give Ukraine what they need” until there’s a cease-fire with Russia.
Trump told reporters on Air Force One Sunday evening that the U.S. has “just about” lifted the pause on intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
CALIFORNIA DECODED: The technology industry and its key characters are driving the national political narrative right now, but it is also a uniquely California story. To understand how the Golden State is defining tech policy and politics within its borders and beyond, we’ve launched POLITICO Pro Technology: California Decoded. This new daily newsletter will track how industry players in Silicon Valley are trying to influence state and national lawmakers – and how government officials are encouraging or foiling those figures. Sign up now to get a limited, free trial of this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox.
Kate Constantini is now comms director for House Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast. She previously was director of comms at With Honor.
Charles Truxal is now chief of staff for Rep. Kat Cammack. He most recently was legislative director for Rep. Morgan Luttrell.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Randy White … Jon Haber of Cascade Strategy … POLITICO’s Jonathan Lai and Jordan Williams … States Newsroom’s Jane Norman … Jean Cornell … NPR’s Ron Elving … Kevin McKeon … NYT’s Danny Hakim … Christie Roberts … Matt Jessee … Alex Treadway… Bill Van Saun … Talia La Schiazza … John Murray of Monument Advocacy … Adam Bodily (49)
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TRIVIA
FRIDAY’S ANSWER: Blaine Salter correctly answered that Thomas L. Blanton was the last Texas representative to get censured before Rep. Al Green.
TODAY’S QUESTION, from Blaine: Who was the last civil war veteran to be elected president of the United States?
The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Inside Congress. Send your answers to insidecongress@politico.com.
