Critics on the right and left have taken aim at Speaker Mike Johnson’s short-term government funding plan over its length, the policy riders attached and those left out, and its spending levels.
Unless something changes fast, it’s facing near-certain defeat in the chamber later this week, despite clearing an initial hurdle in the House Tuesday. That outcome could push lawmakers toward a more basic stopgap that authorizes spending into December and includes few, if any, policy add-ons. Both parties are desperate to avoid the chaos – and blame – of a government shutdown this close to a tight election. They ...