Senate Republican whip says Congress may need to pass short-term government funding bill into March

Senate Republican Whip John Thune said Congress may need to pass a short-term government funding bill – known as a continuing resolution – into the “March timeframe” in order to allow lawmakers enough time to process the 12 outstanding appropriations bills and avoid a shutdown.

The chamber’s no. 2 Republican said it’s “unrealistic” to think Congress can get that work done ahead of two fast approaching deadlines, in part because congressional leadership only this week agreed to topline funding levels and appropriators are now beginning the difficult task of negotiating the individual bills that fund different parts of the government.

“We ought to allow some time to do some work on the other bills and, if there is a CR, maybe in the March timeframe,” he told reporters when asked if a CR would be needed.

Congress passed stopgap legislation late last year, extending government funding until January 19 for parts of the government including military construction, veterans’ affairs, transportation, housing and the Energy Department. The rest of the government will be funded until February 2.

Thune’s comments supporting a continuing resolution could set up a clash with Speaker Mike Johnson and the Republican-controlled House. Last November, the Louisiana Republican pledged to no longer support short term such stopgap measures.

“I’m done with short term CRs,” Johnson said at the time.

House Republican leaders are not ready to commit to a stopgap spending bill but did bring up the possibility during a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, according to GOP sources familiar with the conversation.

It’s a sign that Johnson may be softening his stance as the next government funding deadline fast approaches and Congress has yet to pass a single yearlong spending bill. Johnson also told members during the closed-door leadership meeting that he does not want a government shutdown, sources said.

Thune suggested work could be done now on some of the bills the Senate has started to process and complained Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wasn’t managing the floor properly.

“I would at least put some of the bills on the floor. I don’t know what Schumer is waiting for,” he said. “We’re wasting time here that we could be using to have a regular appropriations process.”

He also warned against a government shutdown saying no one wins: “We’ve never seen any political or policy gain come out of a government shutdown.”

On another thorny issue, Thune said he thinks Congress should eventually be able to reach a deal on border security policy that would allow them to approve funding for Ukraine and Israel, but suggested that’s not likely to happen until after Congress deals with government funding issues.

“I think there is a high level of interest in moving that package. But the border stuff, they need to get it right. And up until now, they really hadn’t had a serious conversation about parole, which they are now finally starting to address,” he said.

Schumer and Johnson announced over the weekend that they had reached an agreement on topline spending numbers, the first step in the process to fund the federal government. But far right members of the House GOP conference slammed the deal and some have pushed to include border policy changes in exchange for not shutting down the government, which highlights the challenge for Johnson, who is leading an extremely narrow majority.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene ticked through a long list of grievances with Johnson’s handling of the Republican conference Tuesday, telling CNN that conservative voters are furious about the GOP majority’s failure to deliver. Johnson, the Georgia Republican said, has been rolled by Democrats in a number of key negotiations, including to keep the government open.

She continued: “That’s not what we want to see out of our speaker. Otherwise, what’s the difference between Nancy Pelosi having the gavel and us having the majority, especially with this upcoming CR? That’s something that we know is coming, but again we haven’t heard any of the details, but we know it’s being discussed. And you’ll see outrage coming out of all of us when that happens.”

Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia echoed Thune that a short-term continuing resolution may be necessary, and she could support it if work continues on the appropriations bills. She cautioned against House Republicans who are threatening to shut down the government in order to press their border legislation, saying that a shutdown “is a road to nowhere.”

“I’ve lived through more than a few shutdowns? A shutdown is a road to nowhere. Nobody wins in a shutdown. and particularly the American people,” she said.

Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas agreed that a stop gap spending resolution may be needed – and warned they may even have to use extend that to the end of the fiscal year.

“I think it’d be next to impossible to do anything but a CR,” he said.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

CNN’s Manu Raju, Melanie Zanona, Haley Talbot, Kristin Wilson, Morgan Rimmer and Clare Foran contributed to this report.

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