WASHINGTON – House Speaker Mike Johnson said he expects to win bipartisan support for his “phased” continuing government funding resolution on Tuesday, potentially giving the Senate enough time to pass the bill after the House and to avoid a government shutdown scheduled to begin late Friday evening.
“In about an hour, I’m going to go in with all the House Republicans, and [Minority Leader Rep.] “Hakeem Jeffries is going to meet with all the Democrats and we’re going to get the final numbers,” Johnson told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Jeffries, DN.Y., said later Tuesday that Democrats would support the continuing resolution because it was “free from harmful cuts and free from far-right political supporters.”
Johnson said he doesn’t yet know how much support he will receive from within his own party. Early Tuesday morning, the conservative House Freedom Caucus, made up of about 45 Republicans, issued a statement against the CR supported by Johnson.
The phased plan funds some federal agencies until mid-January and others until early February. But it contains none of the drastic spending cuts that groups like the Freedom Caucus have called for.
To pass the CR under a procedural procedure known as a suspension of the rules, Johnson will need two-thirds of the House and likely more than 100 Democrats to vote for it. Several House Democrats who previously opposed the measure said Monday they were prepared to support it.
In the Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also telegraphed their support for the plan.
“Right now, I’m pleased that Speaker Johnson appears to be moving in our direction by pushing a CR that doesn’t include the highly partisan cuts that Democrats have warned about,” Schumer said on the Senate floor Monday.
President Joe Biden also signaled he was open to the novel approach, which Johnson said would give the House time to consider the funds.
“I will not make any judgment about what I would veto and what I would sign. Let’s see what they come up with,” Biden told reporters on Monday.
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Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.
Source : www.cnbc.com