Senators are quietly discussing the possibility of moving first on a stopgap spending and supplemental appropriations combo package next month given uncertainty about how the House will proceed, according to sources familiar with the talks.
After Labor Day, lawmakers will have just a few weeks to avert a partial government shutdown when current appropriations lapse on Oct. 1. Meanwhile, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster aid fund is rapidly running out of cash and expected to defer longer-term rebuilding projects in order to respond to immediate crises on Maui, in Southern California and elsewhere.
At the same time, it’s not clear what Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., will be able to pass in his chamber given his fractious caucus is split over fiscal 2024 spending, policy riders and Ukraine funding that’s part of President Joe Biden’s recent $40 billion request. Washington veterans like ex-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., are predicting another shutdown is more likely than not.
