President Donald Trump on Monday urged House and Senate Republicans to back a short-term spending measure to avert a partial government shutdown that would begin Oct. 1 if no agreement is reached.
GOP leadership has been quietly drafting a continuing resolution that would keep federal funding in place through Nov. 21 and would take effect at 12 a.m. on Oct. 1, according to people familiar with the discussions. The text of the proposed measure has not been released. On his Truth Social account, Trump called on Republicans to "stick TOGETHER" and vote "YES!" on what he described as a "Clean CR" to "fight back against the Radical Left."
Democratic leaders in both chambers have publicly signaled they will resist a so-called clean continuing resolution, saying they will not back a stopgap that includes policy changes favored by Republicans. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) tweeted Monday that "Partisan legislation that continues the unprecedented Republican assault on healthcare is not a clean spending bill. It's a dirty one." Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other Democrats have said they want unspecified concessions on health care funding in exchange for support to avert a shutdown.
The Senate’s filibuster rules mean a continuing resolution will likely need 60 votes to pass the upper chamber. Republicans hold 53 Senate seats with all members present, so GOP leaders would need Democratic support to clear the 60-vote threshold. In the House, GOP leaders would also need to keep nearly all Republicans in line; with full attendance, Republicans can afford only two defections on a stopgap measure.
Republican unity is not assured. A handful of House Republicans have publicly criticized continuing resolutions, and some have said they will oppose a short-term extension without spending cuts. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) — a frequent critic of CRs who voted against the March measure that funded the government through the remainder of fiscal 2025 — said he would oppose a stopgap that lacks spending reductions. Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) said Sunday she would not support a CR that "ends funding right before a major holiday," referring to the Nov. 21 end date, which precedes the Thanksgiving period.
Democratic leaders have leverage because their votes would be needed in the Senate, but they also face pressure from their progressive base. Schumer took heat from progressives earlier this year after declining to block a GOP-backed CR in March that covered the remainder of fiscal 2025. Asked last week to justify his approach this time, Schumer said, "I did what I thought was right. It's a different situation now than then."
GOP leaders including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune have been described by allies as working to craft a "clean" extension focused solely on keeping government operations funded, avoiding partisan riders that could fracture support. If the leadership bill is indeed limited to funding language, some Republican critics might still object on principle to continuing resolutions or on the length of the extension.
Leadership in both chambers hopes to bring a stopgap to votes this week and send it to the White House before the Oct. 1 deadline. The outcome will depend on whether Republicans can marshal unanimous or near-unanimous support within their ranks and whether Senate Democrats agree to back a short-term, nonpolicy CR. If those votes cannot be secured, a partial federal shutdown could begin at 11:59 p.m. Sept. 30, affecting agencies funded by annual appropriations bills that have not been enacted.
The situation echoes the political dynamics of earlier funding fights this year, when lawmakers used the threat of a shutdown as leverage over policy priorities. Negotiations this week will test whether Republican leaders can deliver unity for a clean continuing resolution and whether Democratic leaders will extract concessions tied to health care or other priorities in exchange for their support. Congressional leaders from both parties must reconcile those calculations before the funding measure would expire on Nov. 21 under the draft GOP timetable.