House GOP leaders released text Tuesday afternoon of a stopgap funding bill that would provide tens of millions of dollars in security assistance for lawmakers and other federal officials amid growing concern about political violence.
The 91-page measure would head off a government shutdown on Oct. 1 and keep federal agencies funded through Nov. 21, as well as provide $30 million for lawmaker security and a total of $58 million in security assistance the White House requested for the Supreme Court and executive branch. While GOP leaders plan to call a floor vote later this week, it’s still unclear whether Democrats will vote in support of the bill, with President Donald Trump calling on congressional Republicans to stiff-arm the minority party in government funding negotiations.
Some House conservatives voiced opposition to the funding patch even before GOP leaders unveiled it, including Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a frequent “no” vote. But House GOP leaders believe they have the votes to push the measure through the House by Friday and jam Senate Democrats, even if no House Democrats vote in support.
“They have chosen not to engage Democrats,” California Rep. Pete Aguilar , the House Democratic Caucus chair, said Tuesday. “So my assumption is that they have the plan, and they have something that has the votes.”
If the House does succeed in passing the spending patch later this week, it will pressure Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to hone his demands ahead of the shutdown deadline, since votes of Democrats are needed in the Senate to clear the 60-vote filibuster threshold.
Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a statement Tuesday saying the GOP-written stopgap “fails to meet the needs of the American people and does nothing to stop the looming healthcare crisis.”
“By refusing to work with Democrats, Republicans are steering our country straight toward a shutdown,” they said.
Republicans note that the Democratic leaders have yet to publicly define specific policy or funding ultimatums ahead of the shutdown deadline, instead sticking to broad criticisms of GOP cuts to health care.
“Sen. Schumer continues to just talk in concepts and platitudes. And until he puts something on the table, there’s nothing to do,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said.
The funding in the bill to heighten security for congressional lawmakers, including when back home in their districts, comes in the wake of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The additional $30 million would boost a longstanding program allowing members of Congress to request security through partnerships between the Capitol Police and state and local law enforcement agencies, which has seen a surge of interest from lawmakers. The funding is available to both the House and Senate.
“What we have seen is a broad uptick over the course of the past year of members utilizing the programs,” House Administration Chair Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) told reporters Tuesday morning.
A separate pilot program allowing members to hire private security is slated to end later this month, Steil said, but added that House leaders “can always look at reappropriating currently available funds” to continue it.
The $58 million in emergency funding for extra Supreme Court and executive branch security comes as the White House cites a surge in threats against justices and other public officials in the aftermath of Kirk’s killing.
Fulfilling another White House request, the bill allows the Trump administration to spend whatever funding is necessarily on the WIC nutrition program that serves low-income pregnant women, infants and children. Without that funding leeway, states wouldn’t be able to provide assistance to everyone who is eligible, the White House warns.
The measure also includes the so-called “D.C. fix” which would allow the capital city’s government to spend its full budget, which is mostly funded through locally raised funds, through September 2026. Congress blocked that authority in mid-March by leaving out routine language in the stopgap passed in the spring, blowing a roughly $1 billion hole in the city budget.
The measure introduced Tuesday does not include any of the health care proposals that have been percolating on Capitol Hill, such as extending enhanced tax credits for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Low- and middle-income Americans who rely on the program will start to receive notices about higher premiums in the coming weeks, and health insurers will soon lock in pricing. But GOP leaders want to punt the fight, which is deeply divisive within their ranks, to later in the year.
“We have until the end of December to figure all that out,” Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday morning. He added later in the day that Democrats “no reason” to oppose the newly released stopgap “because it’s clean and short-term.”
Asked what would happen if Senate Democrats reject it, he replied, “We’re gonna see what happens.”
Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.
