Trump backs temporary funding bill that would avert government shutdown

Republican lawmakers are scrambling to avert a government shutdown set to begin on Saturday, with Donald Trump’s backing for a temporary funding measure having suddenly silenced the usual conservative opposition.

The stopgap funding bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), would maintain government operations at current funding levels through 30 September, the end of the fiscal year. Republican US House speaker Mike Johnson said he plans to hold a procedural vote on Monday, aiming for a passage vote on Tuesday before sending lawmakers home for recess.

Trump instructed reluctant fellow Republicans to fall in line behind the stopgap bill that would fund the government through September. “All Republicans should vote (Please!) YES next week,” the president wrote on Saturday on his Truth Social platform.

“It could happen. It shouldn’t have happened, and it probably won’t,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday when asked about the possibility of a shutdown. “I think the CR is going to get passed.”

The bill would boost defense spending by $6bn while slashing non-defense programs by $13bn and maintaining a $20bn freeze on IRS funding – priorities that align with Trump’s agenda but were previously insufficient to secure hardliner support.

The measure also provides additional funding for immigration enforcement, deportations and veterans’ healthcare, and it could grant Trump expanded authority to redirect funds between programs at his discretion – which is a no-go for most Democrats who worry it could enable the administration’s reshaping of federal priorities without congressional approval. The funding bill makes no mention of social security or Medicare, essential programs that operate automatically and separate from the government’s day-to-day budget.

The House Republicans’ paper-thin 218-214 majority has repeatedly threatened government funding over the last year. Congressman Thomas Massie has declared his opposition, while House representatives Tony Gonzales, Brian Fitzpatrick and Cory Mills remain undecided.

However, Trump’s support appears to have shifted the dynamic for his most ardent backers.

Congressman Andy Harris, the chair of the far-right House Freedom caucus, which attempted to sabotage other funding bills over the last few months, abandoned his earlier reluctance after a meeting at the White House.

“I am firmly 100% in his corner,” Harris told reporters, while former skeptic representative Victoria Spartz, who nearly blocked a budget blueprint last month, said: “I don’t think we have time to do anything else. I’m being realistic.”

Democratic House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said his side of the aisle is unwavering in its disapproval, saying he expects “that Republicans are going it alone”.

But Democratic responses have fractured in the US Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-47 majority. Republican senator Rand Paul is expected to vote against the bill, meaning at least eight Democratic votes will be needed to overcome the hurdles – though the lawmakers are already facing intense pressure from within their party to resist Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk’s unilateral cuts to federal agencies, which have already eliminated more than 100,000 jobs.

In indicating his support for the bill, the Pennsylvania Democratic US senator John Fetterman said a shutdown would be “chaos”. “I’ll never vote for chaos,” he said.

Oregon’s Democratic senator, Ron Wyden also signalled support, saying: “Shutdowns are a bad idea. I’m not a shutdown guy.”

Swing state Democratic senator Elissa Slotkin, however, told NBC News on Sunday she would be withholding her vote “until I see some assurances that whatever we pass … is going to ensure that the money is spent the way Congress intends”.

The last government shutdown was the longest in US history, stretching 35 days during Trump’s first presidency and stemming from disagreements over building a border wall to block off Mexico.