WASHINGTON — Negotiators from Congress and the White House scrambled Monday to complete work on the remaining government funding bills for the fiscal year and avoid a partial shutdown for key departments that would begin this weekend without legislative action.
Six months into the fiscal year, Congress is about halfway home in passing spending measures expected to total about $1.65 trillion. Lawmakers passed the first portion of spending bills in early March, funding about 30 percent of the government. Now lawmakers are focused on the larger package, and in what has become routine, are brushing up against the deadline when federal funding expires.
Agreement has been reached on five of the six spending bills that make up the second package, but negotiators have clashed over the measure that provides funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which is responsible for securing and managing U.S. borders, among other things.
A senior Republican aide not authorized to speak publicly said progress is being made in the negotiations.
The stakes for both sides are immense as border security emerges as a central issue in the 2024 campaigns and the flow of migrants crossing the southern border far outpaces the capacity of the U.S. immigration system to deal with it.
Negotiators had been moving toward a simple solution: passing a continuing resolution that would mostly extend funding for the Department of Homeland Security, though with some increase from 2023 levels.
But the Republican aide said House Republicans pushed for more resources for the border than the continuing resolution would have provided. The White House also eventually rejected the continuing resolution approach but didn’t make that clear in communications with congressional allies until the “11th hour,” the aide said, increasing the risk of a short-term shutdown.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday declined to speak to timelines during the negotiations but emphasized that funding the government is lawmakers’ responsibility.
“It is their job to keep the government open,” she said.
Drilling down more specifically on funding for the Department of Homeland Security, she said the administration has “maximized their operations” and removed more people in the past 10 months than during any year since fiscal year 2013. She said it was important to continue “that operational pace.”
“Obviously, we believe DHS needs additional funding. We’ve always said that,” Jean-Pierre said.
Even with the possible release of legislative text early this week, it’s unclear whether Congress can avoid a brief partial shutdown.
