Republican leaders are facing their toughest challenge yet in keeping the government open as lawmakers race to secure more money before current funding runs out at the end of the week.

Leadership was already going to have their work cut out for them in trying to corral frustrated defense hawks, skeptical conservatives and fired-up Democrats into supporting another continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government's lights on.

While Congress has enacted a series of short-term funding extensions since September, each one has become progressively more difficult to pass. And the latest push comes amid bipartisan backlash to Trump's reported comments about immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries.

ADVERTISEMENT

“All these things are connected,” he added.

The House will consider a short-term funding patch this week, though GOP leadership has not yet decided how long government funding will last or whether it will include money for disaster aid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Current government funding is set to expire on Friday night.

Work on a long-term spending bill has been stalled as congressional leaders scramble to reach a bipartisan agreement on boosting spending caps and providing a permanent legal solution for beneficiaries of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which Trump said he would end in March.

Congress needs to raise the spending caps in order to avoid automatic, across-the-board spending cuts that are set to take effect later this month under sequestration. Once appropriators receive the top-line spending numbers, they can begin writing a massive, trillion-dollar omnibus package.

But a deal on spending caps has so far remained elusive, with some Republicans accusing Democrats of slow-walking the budget agreement until they get a DACA fix.

Democrats have also been insisting on equal increases for defense and nondefense spending programs — another sticking point holding up the talks.