Speaker Paul Ryan plans to pass a continuing resolution later this week to fund the government until Jan. 19. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo Republicans fight Democrats — and themselves — as shutdown looms House and Senate Republicans disagree on key government funding issues, and they’ll still need buy-in from Democrats.

Even as Republicans are poised to pass a $1.5 trillion tax-cut bill, a brewing fight over federal funding may lead to a government shutdown at week’s end.

Speaker Paul Ryan plans to pass a continuing resolution later this week to fund the government until Jan. 19, but there are major disagreements within the House GOP over the move. There are also disputes between House and Senate Republicans, as well as the ever-present struggle with Democrats.


Right now, no one on either side of the Capitol has any clear idea how this three-way funding fight will play out, but all the major factions are digging in. Lawmakers and aides said the House and Senate could end up “ping-ponging” a spending bill back and forth until the issues are resolved, although some worry that Congress could blunder into a shutdown. Ryan on Tuesday instructed lawmakers not to leave town, signaling how concerned leadership is about the Friday funding deadline.

“They need to be very careful in where they tread,” said Rep. Tom Cole, an ally of GOP leaders.

Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — their focus solely on getting the tax cuts through over the last few weeks — have pushed off any broader agreement on immigration or raising federal spending caps until January.

Ryan told his House GOP colleagues on Tuesday morning that Republican leaders plan to attach an $81 billion disaster supplemental for Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to the short-term spending bill that will come up on Wednesday. The measure will fund the Pentagon through next year, but only provides enough money for other federal agencies until Jan. 19.

The GOP’s approach will dare Democrats to vote against the much-needed disaster recovery dollars and funding for troops. But the minority party has already panned the GOP’s strategy, and Senate Democrats can block any spending bill with their filibuster powers.

Yet a number of House Republicans — even normally reliable leadership allies — are openly worried about leadership’s plan to quickly move the disaster package, which was unveiled by the Appropriations Committee only on Monday night.

Another pressing concern for House Republicans is the Senate plan to add a bipartisan proposal by Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) to stabilize the Obamacare markets. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell secured Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins’ vote for the tax bill in part with an assurance that the Alexander-Murray measure would become law this year.

House Republicans oppose the proposal because they object to anything that props up Obamacare and say it doesn’t include language restricting federal funding for abortions.

“We’re supposed to stand firm. That’s the deal, we were all told that’s what we agreed to stand for as conference just two weeks ago,” said Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), one of the top members of the House Freedom Caucus. “We’ll see what they send back. But if it’s got Alexander-Murray on it, that’s a big problem for a lot of us. Certainly the Freedom Caucus.”

“I don’t know if I can vote for it at this point. I haven’t made a decision,” noted Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.), the chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee. “But we also have major problems with the CSRs [cost-sharing reductions], as well, … coming back from the Senate.”

Rep. Tom Reed, co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus, said there was “consternation” from some members in a meeting with House Republicans when the Obamacare provisions were floated.

But Reed added, “I believe there is an opportunity here between the two bodies, and we’ll get through this. The first step? We gotta take care of tax reform.”

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Meanwhile, Texas and Florida lawmakers — whose states were hit hard by hurricanes this summer — say Congress can’t adjourn for the holidays without providing disaster relief.

“I don’t like the idea that some of this is not paid for, but at the same time, you merely have to go down to my state and see what these people are going through,” Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas) said of the disaster-aid package.

Williams added that the disaster funding “comes at a good time with the tax bill,” because he believes it will spur “huge economic growth” that will help offset the massive spending required to help people rebuild.

Despite Jordan's comments, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said Tuesday morning that his conservative contingent — riding high on the impending tax victory — is expected to be more amenable this week to passing a stopgap spending bill with disaster aid attached.

“I think there’s an energy right now that, getting a historic tax reform done, that you’re more willing to accept things that you wouldn’t normally accept. To suggest otherwise would be dishonest,” Meadows told reporters upon exiting the Republican Conference meeting. “Am I willing to maybe take a vote that under normal circumstances I might not take? Yes.”

Meadows said Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) asked him whether Freedom Caucus members would still vote for the House’s stopgap bill with an extra $81 billion in disaster aid tacked on.

“We’re not whipping against the supplemental at this point,” Meadows said. “We’re trying to make an informed decision on: Do we support it, do we not? And ultimately, you have to see the needs of people in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and Louisiana. And that’s not lost on me. And yet, at the same time, we want to make sure that we’re fiscally responsible.”

The Freedom Caucus chief said his members may also be less likely to push back against the spending package if they can lock down commitments from leaders on curtailing so-called Section 702 spying powers under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Ryan has proposed passing the surveillance program language as a separate bill.

But Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn said he was a “little surprised” to hear Ryan say reauthorization of the surveillance powers would move separately from other must-pass year-end bills. The Texas Republican said it would be "dangerous" if the authority lapsed.

Cornyn told reporters Tuesday afternoon that the stopgap spending bill will serve as a catchall for a spate of “must-do” policy items — offering the clearest signal yet of the chamber’s plan to avoid a shutdown.

Cornyn’s checklist includes broadly bipartisan initiatives like funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, disaster recovery dollars and veterans' health care.

Beyond the CSR language and 702 provision, the Senate's stopgap bill will also include procedural language to avert massive cuts to social programs next year, under Congress' PAYGO rule, Sen. Roy Blunt told POLITICO today.

Both chambers must agree to waive those cuts — triggered by the GOP's costly tax plan — by mid-January to avoid cuts to mandatory programs like Medicare and farm subsidies.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned Republicans against trying to sideline Democrats. He called for a "global deal" by Friday on all of the outstanding issues and said doing a short-term funding bill with some items, but not others, "won't work."

"We should do all of these things together instead of a piecemeal, week-by-week fashion," Schumer said. "Our Republican friends cannot pick and choose what they want and do what they did on the tax bill and health care bill and say, 'Democrats, you're not welcome to be part of the deal.'"

Influential Democratic senators also aired their frustration with the insistence of House Republicans that a bipartisan Obamacare stabilization bill has to include language that would bar federal funds from being used for abortions.

“Honestly, they put more barriers in the way of making sure that people get access to health care than I can believe,” said Murray, as she threw up her hands and rolled her eyes. “And this is another barrier.”

Jennifer Scholtes and Rachael Bade contributed to this report.

