Congress is planning to punt on the government shutdown deadline
- Republican leaders in the House and Senate released plans to extend government funding by two weeks, to December 22, to avoid a government shutdown.
- This will give the GOP and Democrats time to hash out a deal on a funding bill that is expected to include a variety of other issues.
- Congressional leaders will meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday.
Republicans in Congress are planning to delay a government shutdown for two weeks with a short-term funding bill, setting up an intense December of negotiations.
Senate Majority Mitch McConnell released a statement Monday saying that he planned to introduce a clean funding extension to push back the start of a shutdown to December 22. The current funding bill runs out at the end of the day Friday.
"This bill - one without any controversial policy riders - will continue government funding and give the House and Senate time to complete their work on a long-term solution," McConnell said in the statement.
"It will keep the government open and functional, and it includes critical resources for our national defense and to give states certainty to continue the Children's Health Insurance Program while the bipartisan work on CHIP reauthorization continues."
The bill will give Republicans and Democrats time to debate a larger funding package.
Democrats want to include a slew of legislative priorities in the funding bill, including codifying the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, an Obamacare stabilization package, and long-term funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program.
Republicans want to secure funding for President Donald Trump's promised border wall and increase the defense spending caps.
The House rolled out its text for a two-week funding bill on Monday.
Congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle will meet with Trump on Thursday to hash out funding issues. Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi pulled out of the first such meeting Tuesday due to a tweet from Trump attacking them and suggesting no deal was possible.