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Congress readies another funding punt ahead of pre-Christmas shutdown deadline

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Staring down a government shutdown deadline in less than three weeks, congressional leaders have begun serious negotiations toward a funding patch that punts the deadline into President-elect Donald Trump’s second term.

A grand deal on final funding bills is highly unlikely before the Dec. 20 deadline, considering Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have yet to strike a “toplines” agreement on overall spending totals for the military and non-defense programs. So lawmakers must now ready yet another stopgap that keeps federal agencies running on static funding — after they already punted on spending back in September.

Schumer said on the floor Monday that “both sides are making progress negotiating on a bill that will pass the House and Senate with bipartisan support.”

“We need to keep divisive and unnecessary provisions out of any government funding extension, or it will get harder to pass a CR in time,” he added. “For now, I’m pleased negotiations are on the right track.”

Republicans had been waiting for Trump to indicate if he preferred a stopgap bill that punted funding decisions into his term or if he wanted lawmakers to negotiate new spending levels now, so he could focus on other legislative priorities as he took over the executive branch. Trump has been uncharacteristically silent on the issue, but lawmakers are running out of time to incorporate the president-elect’s stance into bipartisan and bicameral talks if they want to avoid a shutdown. Johnson has said he and Trump talk frequently about funding, but the speaker won’t divulge the details of those discussions.

If Trump weighs in with sweeping demands closer to the deadline, when many details have already been hammered out, it could increase the chance of a deal falling apart. Neither party wants a shutdown at this point.

The length of the funding patch, known as a continuing resolution or a CR, as well as what special exceptions are included and how much disaster aid is attached will be the main focus of negotiations.

House conservatives are advocating for a new March deadline, which would bring it perilously close to a late-April trigger that would mean sweeping funding cuts unless Congress passes a bill with new spending levels by then. Democrats and many appropriators in both parties want an earlier deadline, both to defuse the risk of those cuts and to give federal agencies budget certainty sooner.

Leaders also aim to clear tens of billions of dollars in disaster aid this month, likely attached to a funding patch, despite calls from some GOP senators for a standalone vote. The White House requested more than $98 billion in emergency funding to help cover the costs of recent natural disasters, including Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.

And Democratic and Republican negotiations are each pushing to add funding for other priorities that could prompt partisan skirmishes. GOP lawmakers also want to leave out funding the White House sought for things like climate and education programs.

The speaker long ago swore off a pre-Christmas so-called omnibus spending package that bundles the dozen individual measures that keep federal agencies funded each year, a mammoth bill that now regularly totals over a trillion dollars. Congress is out of time to pass all 12 bills individually through both chambers, a process that lawmakers now struggle to complete every year.

Conservatives in the House have long protested the omnibus process and would likely be incensed if Johnson greenlit such a bill now. They favor passing a stopgap bill this time, arguing Trump and the GOP majorities next term should set spending levels. Given Johnson needs to keep GOP lawmakers unified behind him before the formal Jan. 3 speakership vote, resorting to a stopgap this month helps him by delaying Republican infighting until after he has re-secured his post.

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Congress

Musk goes back on the offensive as megabill moves through Congress

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Elon Musk is escalating his assault on President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” as the Senate readies a final vote on it.

The world’s richest man, who until recently played an active role in the Trump administration, attacked the GOP’s sweeping domestic megabill over the weekend. On Monday, he threatened to wield his financial resources against Republicans who support it.

“Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!” Musk wrote on X. “And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”

Musk’s opposition to the megabill, which could cripple the renewable energy industry while adding trillions to the national debt, led to a public break with the president shortly after his time as a federal government employee came to an end in late May.

The two appeared to patch things up several days later.

But Musk is again on the offensive. Also on Monday, he tagged Freedom Caucus members Texas Rep. Chip Roy and Maryland Rep. Andy Harris in another post assailing the megabill.

“How can you call yourself the Freedom Caucus if you vote for a DEBT SLAVERY bill with the biggest debt ceiling increase in history?” Musk wrote.

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Planned Parenthood funding at grave risk after Senate ruling

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Republicans are on the cusp of a breakthrough in their long effort to strip federal funding from Planned Parenthood after a Senate ruling Monday.

Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough advised lawmakers that a provision that would cut off Medicaid funding for one year to the women’s health organization and abortion provider can remain in the GOP’s domestic policy megabill without threatening its ability to be passed along party lines, according to Senate Democrats.

The megabill is expected to clear the Senate Monday or Tuesday using a budgetary tool to bypass a 60-vote filibuster. Bills advanced with that tool must adhere to strict budget rules, and the parliamentarian is the de facto arbiter of those rules. Senate Democrats had challenged whether the provision was allowed.

“Republicans will stop at nothing in their crusade to take control of women’s bodies,” said Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley of Oregon in a statement.

Conservative lawmakers have sought to strip Planned Parenthood’s eligibility for federal funds for decades. It has long been subject to the Hyde amendment, which bans federal funding directly on abortions, but the organization bills Medicaid for nonabortion services and receives other federal funding through other programs and grants.

Republicans sought to target the group in their party-line 2017 push to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but the overall effort collapsed.

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Anxious House Republicans scramble to forestall Senate’s Medicaid cuts

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Dozens of House Republicans are scrambling behind the scenes to head off the deep Medicaid cuts in the Senate version of the party-line megabill that could pass as soon as tonight.

Group texts are blowing up and frantic phone calls are being exchanged among GOP lawmakers alarmed about the Senate Medicaid provisions, according to six House Republicans granted anonymity to describe the conversations. Even some conservatives in states that will be hit hard by the Senate’s crackdown on state-directed payments and medical provider taxes don’t want to vote on the Senate’s Medicaid text.

That’s to say nothing of an effort pushed by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) to scale back federal payments under the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion — a well-established red line for many House members.

Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to hold a call with House Republicans Monday afternoon, according to two other people granted anonymity to discuss yet-to-be-announced plans. Senate and House leadership staffers huddled Monday to discuss the outstanding concerns.

Senior House Republicans are warning they still might need to hammer out differences between the two chambers if the Senate doesn’t strike a final compromise on the language and add it in a final amendment before sending the bill to the House. That would mean missing President Donald Trump’s arbitrary July 4 deadline for signing the megabill.

It’s still unclear whether the Senate will relent and allow a compromise on Medicaid or other policy issues in a final amendment. That chamber is dealing with its own politics, including the determination of many GOP senators to swell the size of the tax-cut package, prompting the need for sharper Medicaid cuts.

Thune has been noncommittal in closed-door meetings with GOP senators about whether there will be a final “wraparound” that would incorporate House Republicans’ concerns. Senate leaders are betting the House will accept whatever the Senate sends them.

“Right now, there isn’t a need for it,” said one GOP senator granted anonymity to discuss the situation.

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