The White House is plotting with Democratic leaders in Congress to try to force Republicans to accept a short-term spending bill that would fund the government through mid-December, Axios has learned.
The Biden administration's embrace of a three-month stopgap measure is an attempt to establish the terms of the spending debate with House Republicans, who are pushing for a six-month bill.
If Congress and the White House can't agree on how to fund the government by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, the federal government will shut down in early October, weeks before Election Day.
The December timeline Democrats want would require Congress to return to the Capitol for a lame-duck session when lawmakers — and the next president — would know who was going to control what branches of government starting in January.
Biden's team wants to be on the same page with congressional Democrats heading into the year-end funding battle to force House Republicans to accept a plan to fund the government largely at fiscal 2024 levels.
Posted by John3262005