Looming shutdown deadline presents minefield for Speaker Johnson

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is facing a political minefield as he seeks to avoid a government shutdown in just 10 days, with both Republicans and Democrats complicating the path to keep the lights on in Washington.

Democrats, whose support will be needed to keep agencies running, are pushing for assurances in the stopgap to make certain that President Trump will direct the funds as appropriated by Congress — while Republicans are opposed to putting limitations on executive authority.

Partisan tensions are heating up. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Sunday accused GOP lawmakers of having “walked away from the negotiating table.” House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) responded in a Monday statement, “My chair hasn’t moved — I remain at the negotiating table,” charging that “some Democrats would rather risk and leverage a shutdown than work in sincerity to reach a feasible solution.”

Republicans, meanwhile, are putting pressure on the Speaker from multiple sides, with moderates slamming the idea of yet another stopgap, defense hawks raising concerns about the impact a continuing resolution would have at the Pentagon, and hard-line conservatives pressuring Johnson to incorporate some of the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) cuts into the bill.

The multifront battle is sure to create headaches for Johnson as he juggles those competing priorities while working to stave off a government shutdown during Trump’s first 100 days in office — which would be a black eye for the entire Republican trifecta.

“Government funding is always bipartisan. You have to have partners on both sides of the aisle to do it,” Johnson said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” over the weekend. “And we need our Democrat colleagues to come to the table and be reasonable about that.”

Johnson, for his part, lowered the chances of a shutdown over the weekend when he dismissed calls from hard-line conservatives to have DOGE cuts reflected in funding legislation. In appearances on a trio of Sunday talk shows, he endorsed President Trump’s call for a “clean” continuing resolution (CR) until Sept. 30, the end of fiscal 2025 — a change from what he said on CNN last week, when he entertained trying to include some adjustments based on DOGE actions.

“We're looking to pass a clean CR to 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,” Johnson said on “Meet the Press.”

Cole said the ultimate CR will include “a number of anomalies,” referring to spending tweaks, but not anything reflecting DOGE cuts — a sign that the GOP is looking to forge ahead in a bipartisan fashion.

“There need to be no poison pills, no effort to achieve victories at the expense of our friends on the other side of the aisle,” Cole said.

That plan, however, runs the risk of angering some hard-line conservatives who have been calling for any stopgap to reflect the dramatic changes to the federal workforce implemented by DOGE and the Trump administration, such as gutting the U.S. Agency for International Development and canceling federal contracts, even as these actions are challenged in court.

Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) told The Hill last week, for instance, that he “would have a real hard time voting for a clean CR after everything that we’ve seen out of DOGE.”

But House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.) put his stamp of approval on the CR plan.

“DOGE has to keep on going and quantify very specifically before we put it in budgetary terms or appropriations terms,” said Harris, who is a House Appropriations subcommittee chair.

Even if he gets uniform support from hard-liners, Johnson is not in the clear on the other ideological end of the spectrum in the House GOP conference. A clean funding stopgap is also getting pushback from more moderate and centrist members.

Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) stated plainly that he will vote against the continuing resolution.

“I am a NO on the CR,” Gonzales said Sunday in a post on the social platform X. “Congress needs to do its job and pass a conservative budget! CR’s are code for Continued Rubberstamp of fraud, waste, and abuse.”

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) also voiced criticism, raising concerns about a CR's potential impact on the military and national security. The military has never operated under a yearlong CR.

“A continuing resolution (CR) is bad for our military and weakens our national security. A CR means new weapons programs cannot get started. A year-long CR means we are not serious about building a military that will deter China, Russia and Iran,” Bacon posted Sunday on X.

Democrats, however, could be a much bigger problem for Johnson and Trump as they seek to keep the government open. Because of the Senate’s 60-vote threshold, their support will be needed to pass a CR — and with GOP defections likely in the House, Johnson, who is managing a super-slim majority, could need their support in the House.

The decision by GOP leadership to leave the DOGE cuts for another time is likely a welcome development for Democrats. Last week, Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, slammed the idea of codifying DOGE efforts in a continuing resolution.

Still, it remains unclear if Democrats will continue their push for language in the stopgap that would limit Trump's powers to spend the money appropriated by Congress — a demand that is a nonstarter among Republicans.

Jeffries, in addition to accusing Republicans of walking away from negotiations, also said there has been “zero outreach from the Trump administration” and reiterated the party’s priorities for the funding measure.

“As the recent budget resolution vote made clear, there will be no support for partisan legislation that fails to protect the quality of life of the American people, most importantly with respect to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid,” Jeffries said, alluding to some of the Democrats’ asks. “Unfortunately, it appears that Republicans, who control the House, the Senate and the presidency, are once again determined to shut the government down and hurt everyday Americans.”

Asked about whether Democrats could support the funding bill being crafted, Cole said they would likely need to see the legislation first — and alluded to Republicans in the House trying to pass a bill without their support.

“If our people will stick together, we can get it out of here,” Cole said. “You’re going to have to have Democratic support in the Senate.”

“That's above my pay grade,” Cole said. “But I hope people understand it's better to keep the government open than to shut it down.”

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