Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters that the delayed release of a stopgap spending bill could force the Senate to work into the weekend to ultimately pass it.
Thune indicated that it is unclear if the two sides will be able to reach a time agreement to expedite passage of the continuing resolution (CR), and that more will be known when bill text is unveiled.
“If we don’t get [bill text] today, and they don’t act on it until tomorrow, it pushes us into the later parts of this week, or maybe into the weekend,” Thune said. “But who knows. Maybe the Christmas spirit will kick in.”
Thune added that he expects the House GOP to “adhere” to its rule that bill text must be available for 72 hours before a vote can take place.
“Once we get it, I think we’ll be able to process it here, but I don’t know when we’re going to get it. … we’ll see,” he said about a time agreement. “It ultimately depends on what’s in it. There are lots of moving parts … and unresolved issues, which if they ultimately get resolved to people’s satisfaction, then I suppose it probably has a smoother path. But if not, we’ll see.”
Government funding is set to expire at midnight on Friday.
