Senate Nearing Bipartisan Stopgap to Avoid Government Shutdown

Leaders in the Senate are reportedly nearing a short-term stopgap measure to fund the government past Saturday's shutdown date, according to multiple reports.

The deal would extend funding for a few weeks, be clean and not include significant money for Ukraine aid or disaster relief a source told The Hill.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are reportedly behind the push to get the stopgap passed and avoid a shutdown.

"Do not expect bill text tonight. Negotiations made some progress today. Not there yet. Staff will keep working through the night on the CR," a Senate aid told The Messenger on Monday night.

Ukraine aid and disaster relief spending remains challenging for lawmakers as many Republicans are divided on giving more financial support to Ukraine and Democrats have been pushing to include President Joe Biden's request for disaster funds.

In the midst of negotiations between Senate leadership, last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to senators asking them for more military aid to help their defense efforts against Russia. Zelenskyy told lawmakers that Ukraine "will lose the war," without help from the U.S.

President Biden submitted a supplemental funding request for Ukraine that would last three months: October, November, and December. But a stopgap measure that would be shorter than that could see reduced aid to the war-torn country.

The president's supplemental request also included disaster relief and funding for firefighters and the military.

The Senate is slated to begin voting on Tuesday on a Federal Aviation Administration bill that could lead to the stopgap measure being taken up, Bloomberg reported.

No matter how things go in the Senate, there are still significant hurdles to overcome in the House to prevent shutdown.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., says he is hoping to pass a short-term funding extension that would include border security policies, however, at least a dozen House Republicans have said they are opposed to an extension. McCarthy will likely be unsuccessful in his efforts to get funding passed if he does not receive support from Democrats.