House Republicans reach deal on short-term funding, but Senate likely to reject it

The short-term funding bill, known as a continuing resolution, would keep the government in office until Oct. 31 and trigger a 1 percent cut from current budget levels, according to the plan released just before the meeting. information from legislators on Sunday evening.

The 1 percent reduction is average for the budget. The Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs will not receive any cuts while the rest of government will see an immediate 8 percent reduction until the end of October.

The effort aims to win support from far-right lawmakers who have demanded significant cuts to support a short-term funding extension.

The pending resolution would also include a border security bill that House Republicans passed in their narrow ranks earlier this year, except for a divisive policy on audit work requirements electronic. The deal also includes important border provisions that will be added to the Homeland Security appropriations bill in an effort to secure concessions from the Senate on the issue when the two chambers eventually negotiate government funding for a complete financial year.

Reaching an apparent deal is an important, if small, step for the House Republican conference, which descended into chaos last week after its leaders were unable to muster enough votes for a Department of Defense funding bill or an in-country government funding pathway. short term.

While many involved in the deal telegraph that these parameters should ensure the bill gets the 218 Republican votes needed to pass, several of the conservative demands are likely to be rejected by the Senate. That would pit the two chambers against each other with less than a dozen days to avoid a partial government shutdown.

The proposal was not negotiated by the leaders. Instead, six Republican House members from two of the five ideological factions — Reps. Dusty Johnson (R.S.D.), Stephanie I. Bice (R-Okla.) and Kelly Armstrong (R.D.) pragmatic Main Street Caucus — and Freedom Caucus Reps. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), Chip Roy (R-Tex.) and Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) — met for two and a half hours Wednesday evening to define the parameters of a potential deal, after far-right lawmakers blocked a floor vote funding the Defense Department until leaders’ demands are met.

Lawmakers on the conservative flanks of the conference realized they needed to find consensus and propose a deal to leaders, who were not involved in crafting the proposal. Negotiations continued for four more days, with all five ideological groups at the conference signing on to the plan over the weekend.

While the deal is expected to appease a significant number of conservatives, including several members of the House Freedom Caucus, Republican leaders now face the difficult task of ensuring the bill passes beyond their razor-thin margins. Given the conservative provisions included in the proposal, Democrats are not expected to contribute to the bill’s passage.

The first test for leaders will be a vote on a procedural hurdle, known as a rule, that sets the parameters for debate on the bill before it passes. Members of the Freedom Caucus and lawmakers opposed to McCarthy have already threatened to vote against the rule, which is traditionally passed only with the votes of the majority party.

The GOP conference began the year with just five votes to spare, but is down to four after the retirement of Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) last week. Further complicating the math is that a few other Republicans are battling the disease and two others are at home with newborns.