GOP pushes early stopgap bill to dodge shutdown fight
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- House Republicans will vote Tuesday on a continuing resolution funding the government through Dec. 4, more than two months before the September 30 fiscal year deadline.
- Speaker Mike Johnson is daring Democrats to vote against the bill, saying they would "alone own the chaos" if a shutdown occurs after September 30.
- House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) cited two prior shutdowns this Congress — the longest federal shutdown and longest partial shutdown in history — as motivation for moving early.
- House Appropriations senior Democrat Rosa DeLauro said the bill was dropped on Democrats Friday without bipartisan negotiations and pushed for provisions blocking a Trump administration rule letting agency heads terminate grants.
- House GOP leadership wants to free up floor time for a separate $95 billion party-line bill covering defense, farmer aid, and portions of President Trump's elections overhaul.
- The House has only 16 more session days before September 30, and the Senate requires 60 votes to advance spending bills, leaving the measure's fate uncertain.
Why it matters: Moving the stopgap vote two months early — highly unusual given Congress typically acts days before deadlines — lets House GOP preserve 16 remaining session days for a separate $95 billion defense/farmers/elections bill while insulating the party from shutdown blame before midterms. Democrats oppose the lack of bipartisan negotiation; the Senate's 60-vote threshold means passage is uncertain despite Johnson's confidence.
