Congress inches towards weeklong extension to avert government shutdown

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Thursday urged fellow lawmakers to agree to a weeklong stopgap spending measure that he hopes would give negotiators a chance to complete a $1.7 trillion spending bill that would cover the entire financial year.

A day after the Democratic-led House passed the seven-day reprieve, Schumer was still needling Republicans to avoid a politically damaging government shutdown by midnight Friday.

“No drama, no gridlock, no delay: that’s the recipe right now for avoiding a shutdown within the next 48 hours,” Schumer said.

Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) does not oppose the extension and says he could vote for the longer compromise spending bill.

“If a truly bipartisan full-year bill without poison pills is ready for final Senate passage by late next week, I’ll support it for our armed forces,” McConnell said.

But with quick action needed, even one GOP senator could conceivably block the extension and cause at least a short-term shutdown.

That in turn could cause the broader talks to break down.

Democrats believe they have leverage in the talks because they could call Republicans’ bluff and force votes on the longer-term spending plan, which includes aid to Ukraine along with increased defense spending and other priorities for both sides.

For now, Congress faces a deadline of midnight Friday to pass the extension or allow for a partial government shutdown.

Many Republicans say Congress should block the massive spending bill until a Republican majority would take charge of the House in January and impose its will on spending.

But Senate Republicans know that seeking to push negotiations into January sets up the kind of collision course that could lead to shutdown, and they fear the GOP would end up taking the blame.