Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said on Wednesday that a stopgap to avert a government shutdown next month is “becoming inevitable” and that it will probably be as “clean” as possible, as both sides have struggled for weeks to strike a full-year funding deal.
Pressed about the prospect of a six-month stopgap, also known as a continuing resolution (CR), Johnson said, “It looks as though it is becoming inevitable at this point,” while pointing fingers at Democrats for “placing completely unreasonable conditions on the negotiations.”
“They want us to limit the scope of executive authority,” Johnson said. “They want us to tie the hands of the president. They want to stipulate, for example, how many specific numbers of employees would be required by executive agencies.”
“That’s just totally unprecedented. It’s inappropriate. I think it’s unconstitutional. I think it’d be a violation of separation of powers,” he said.
Congress has until March 14 to pass legislation to keep the government funded or risk a shutdown.
Johnson’s comments come as Democrats have pressed for assurances that a bipartisan funding deal that emerges from talks won’t be undercut by Trump amid his Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) sweeping operation to reshape the federal government.