Republicans will face a critical test of their unity when a spending bill that would avoid a partial government shutdown and keep federal agencies funded through September comes up for a vote.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is teeing up the bill for a vote as soon as Tuesday despite the lack of buy-in from Democrats, essentially daring them to oppose it and risk a shutdown that would begin Saturday if lawmakers fail to act.
Republicans will need overwhelming support from their members in both chambers — and some help from Senate Democrats — to get the bill to President Donald Trump’s desk. It’s one of the biggest legislative tests so far of the Republican president’s second term, prompting Vice President JD Vance to visit Capitol Hill on Tuesday morning to rally support.
“We have to keep the government in operation,” Johnson said as he emerged from a House Republican meeting. “It’s a fundamental responsibility of ours. The vice president echoed that sentiment. It was very well received and very well delivered. I think the holdouts are down to just one or two.”
The strategy has the backing of Trump, who is calling on Republicans to “remain UNITED — NO DISSENT — Fight for another day when the timing is right.”
House Republicans said the bill would trim $13 billion in non-defense spending from the levels in the 2024 budget year and increase defense spending by $6 billion, which are rather flat changes for both categories when compared with an overall topline of nearly $1.7 trillion in discretionary spending. The bill does not cover the majority of government spending, including Social Security and Medicare. Funding for those two programs is on auto pilot and not regularly reviewed by Congress.
Democrats are mostly worried about the discretion the bill gives the Trump administration on spending decisions. They are already alarmed by the administration’s efforts to make major cuts through the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, run by billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk. And they say the spending bill would fuel the effort.
“This is not a clean CR. This bill is a blank check,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee. “It’s a blank check for Elon Musk and President Trump.”
Spending bills typically come with specific funding directives for key programs, but hundreds of those directives fall away under the legislation, according to a memo released by Senate Democrats.
