House Speaker Mike Johnson has introduced a Continuing Resolution to keep the federal government funded through September. The existing CR expires on March 14th, and failing to pass this funding bill will result in a government shutdown.
Johnson expects to bring the bill to the House floor for a vote as early as Tuesday.
BREAKING: House Republican leaders on Saturday unveiled a GOP-led stopgap funding bill, known as a continuing resolution, that will fund the government at current levels through the end of September.
Read more: https://t.co/1zRuC6dIGR pic.twitter.com/6BXzRbZ2Ci
— ABC News (@ABC) March 8, 2025
President Trump has endorsed the bill and, via Truth Social, encouraged every Republican in Congress to vote for it.
Do you support this? https://t.co/PZyg5xymSA
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) March 8, 2025
Passing this CR bill will be the first test of Republican unity in support of the President’s agenda. With razor-thin majorities in both the House and Senate, Republicans have little margin for error.
Hakeem Jeffries and Democratic leaders released a statement opposing the bill. No Democrats are expected to vote in favor of it.
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar said in a statement Saturday evening that the Democrats won’t be voting for the bill.
“The partisan House Republican funding bill recklessly cuts healthcare, nutritional assistance and $23 billion in veterans benefits. Equally troublesome, the legislation does nothing to protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, while exposing the American people to further pain throughout this fiscal year,” the leaders said in a statement.
Democrats have been steamrolled since January and are desperate for a win. A government shutdown that can be blamed on Trump would be a welcomed gift. Failure to keep the government funded would be an unforced error that the Republicans can not afford.
President Trump says CR funding bill must be passed!
Democrats will do anything they can to shut down our Government, and we can’t let that happen. –@POTUS pic.twitter.com/8Zeq1SWHrZ
— Steve Gruber (@stevegrubershow) March 8, 2025
Republican leaders are confident they can get the bill passed without Democrat support, but there are question marks. Texas Rep. Tony Gonzalas has indicated he will vote no on the bill.
I am a NO on the CR. Congress needs to do its job and pass a conservative budget! CR’s are code for Continued Rubberstamp of fraud, waste, and abuse.
— Tony Gonzales (@TonyGonzales4TX) March 2, 2025
In a Fox News interview, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie also expressed some concerns with the CR. President Trump and Mike Johnson have their work cut out for them.
You’ve hit the nail right on the head
The best reason to take this approach would be to buy time to advance the @DOGE effort, with an eye toward making those cuts stick—through “rescissions” packages and otherwise
We need to be able to connect this plan to that outcome
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) March 8, 2025
Not a fan of CRs … but this makes sense. They need some time for DOGE to continue doing the work. https://t.co/NQUPSEcvFU
— The🐰FOO (@PolitiBunny) March 9, 2025
Republicans are in the rare position of controlling both the House and the Senate. If they hope to maintain that control past the midterms, they need to perform for the American people. Passing this CR and avoiding a government shutdown is their first big test.
They can stand united or fall divided.