WASHINGTON—Republicans have released their proposal for extending government funding, but it faces hurdles in both chambers of Congress.
The 100-page continuing resolution (CR)—Capitol Hill parlance for a stopgap funding bill—would primarily extend funding past the March 14 deadline to Sept. 30.
But it also contains provisions that aren’t directly related to extending government funding, including the addition of some new defense and deportation appropriations, and some spending cuts.
While CRs generally rely on Democrats’ support to pass, given many Republicans’ hardline opposition to such measures in the past, Democrats have indicated that they won’t help this time—raising questions about whether the measure can pass both chambers.
President Donald Trump has backed the plan, as Republicans’ primary focus remains on crafting their budget legislation to implement his agenda.
New Funding, Spending Cuts
In addition to extending government funding, the CR would include new appropriations related to the Department of Defense and to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while providing for some spending cuts.
Speaking about the bill on a March 8 call with reporters, House Republican leadership staff said the CR would allow for $892.5 billion in defense spending, a slight increase over last year. It provides about $708 billion for nondefense spending, a $13 billion reduction from the previous year.
Increases to ICE funding, which could help Trump in his efforts to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history, are primarily related to a years-long operating shortfall in the agency going back to President Joe Biden’s administration, staffers said.
Johnson said the bill will “freeze funding at current levels to make sure that the government can stay open while we begin to incorporate all these savings that we’re finding through the DOGE effort and these other sources of revenue that President Trump’s policies are bringing to the table.”
Overall, staffers said this package provides $7 billion in savings over current funding levels.
Republican leadership has referred to the package as a “clean” CR, describing a CR without extraneous provisions.
Bicameral Challenges
The legislation is likely to face some challenges in both chambers of Congress.In the lower chamber, Johnson presides over a slim majority and can afford to lose only one vote from the Republican caucus.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a long-time opponent of CR legislation on principle who has shown himself willing to break with his conference on major issues, could oppose the bill outright.
If Massie or some other House Republican takes a hardline stance against the package, Johnson won’t be able to spare any other defections without Democrats’ help.
And Democrats have made it clear that they won’t provide such help.
In a statement, House Democratic leadership said, “The partisan House Republican funding bill recklessly cuts healthcare, nutritional assistance and $23 billion in veterans benefits,” a reference to the bill’s zeroing out of the Toxic Exposures Fund.
“Equally troublesome, the legislation does nothing to protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, while exposing the American people to further pain throughout this fiscal year,” the House Democrats said in the statement.
They vowed to vote “no” on the package.
Some House Democrats—such as Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas)—could support the package, which could provide crucial votes in the House.
Should it pass the House in its current form, it could also face challenges in the Senate, where it would need at least 60 votes to overcome the filibuster.
As in the House, a number of Senate Republicans—about 15 to 25, depending on the vote—have historically opposed CR bills outright.
Traditionally, this hasn’t been a significant hurdle, however, as most CR legislation that makes it to the upper chamber wins bipartisan support.
Some Senate Democrats—such as Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.)—have already indicated openness to passing a CR on grounds of avoiding a government shutdown.
However, it’s unclear if the bill can win the 60 votes needed to proceed to a final passage.
Despite these challenges, Republicans may be willing to fall in line behind this package, given its net savings of $7 billion. Trump’s support, meanwhile, will bolster the bill’s odds, particularly in the lower chamber.
Most Republicans say they want to focus on funding Trump’s agenda, as Johnson has set a goal of achieving final passage, through the House and Senate, of a reconciliation bill that would do so by about the beginning of May.
