Much of the recent focus on Capitol Hill has been on the Republican efforts to pass a budget plan, and for good reason: GOP lawmakers, especially in the House, have crafted some radical and regressive ideas that would have a dramatic impact on the country.
There is, however, another congressional priority that’s generated less attention: A government shutdown deadline is just over two weeks away.
By all accounts, members of the Democratic minority aren’t making things easy for their Republican colleagues. Politico reported:
Republicans and Democrats are on a collision course over federal spending after GOP leaders ruled out limiting President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s ability to claw back congressionally approved funding. It’s a dynamic that’s ratcheting up fears of a government shutdown in just 17 days.
Some context is probably in order.
As regular readers know, GOP leaders repeatedly turned to House Democrats during the last Congress to approve must-pass legislation — including measures to prevent government shutdowns — after too many of their far-right members balked at governing. In fact, in literally every instance when members had to vote on major fiscal legislation, it was the Democratic minority that saved the day.
This happened again shortly before Christmas when it came time to approve the latest in a series of stop-gap measures. Republican leaders again turned to Democrats, who provided most of the votes, despite the fact that the GOP was in the majority.
That temporary spending bill reset the clock on the next funding deadline, which arrives two weeks from Friday.
It’s likely that House Speaker Mike Johnson and his team may have assumed this would play out the way it has always seemed to work out: Many of his own members would balk at another continuing resolution; Democrats would make some modest requests; GOP leaders would acquiesce; and Democrats would help pass a bill to keep the government’s lights on.
But it’s not quite working out that way — at least not yet.
That’s because Democrats aren’t just making some minor requests this time. On the contrary, Democratic leaders have told GOP leaders that the next spending bill must include some statutory restrictions to address White House abuses and meaningful guardrails related to Elon Musk’s DOGE operation.
Without such provisions, Democratic leaders have said, Republicans shouldn’t expect any of the party’s votes.
Republicans have responded that they will never go along with such demands. Indeed, House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters, “[T]he Democrats are placing completely unreasonable conditions on the negotiations. They want us to limit the scope of executive authority. They want us to tie the hands of the president.”
The Republican leader added, “It looks like they’re trying to push us into a shutdown scenario … They’re insisting upon conditions that they know full well cannot be delivered.”
Or put another way, members of the Democratic base hoping to see the party play some hardball have reason to be pleased — again, for now.
If recent history is any guide, plenty will happen between now and the deadline, and it’d be a mistake to make any firm predictions about the outcome. But as the process continues, there are plenty of questions to keep in mind: Will Democrats hold firm? Is there something else Republicans can offer them? Can House GOP leaders realistically pass a spending bill without Democratic votes? Will Democrats worry about being blamed for a shutdown — despite the fact that Republicans control both chambers of Congress and the White House?
That last point is especially challenging, though some GOP lawmakers are already laying the groundwork. “Republicans do not have the votes to keep government open on our own,” Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota said this week. “So if Democrats want to shut it down, they can.”
It was a curious pitch, rooted in the idea that the GOP majority can’t govern on its own, but no one will be surprised to hear other Republicans peddling a similar talking point in the coming days. Watch this space.
