Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks during a memorial and prayer vigil for Charlie Kirk at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
This brings us to government funding – and why security of lawmakers is a key part of that fight.
Government funding expires at 11:59:59pm ET on Sept. 30. The House is scheduled to be out of session next week. Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown on September 23. So there is limited bandwidth for Congress before a shutdown.
There is chatter that the House may try to advance a clean interim spending bill this week (a "CR"), which would run through Nov. 21.
The bill would renew all funding from last year at current levels. But it would approve three "new" bills for the entire fiscal year covering agriculture, military construction/VA and the legislative branch.
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Democrats are requesting a renewal of the Obamacare subsidies, which are set to expire at the year-end. (Pete Kiehart/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The big request from Democrats is a renewal of Obamacare subsidies, which expire at the end of the year. If Congress fails to act, healthcare for tens of millions of Americans will rise sharply.
Some Republicans are pushing for an extension of those subsidies, too. But Congressional Republicans are reluctant to attach the Obamacare subsidy renewal to a seven-week interim spending bill.
In short, Republicans are waiting for Democrats to say what they want — and Democrats can’t figure that out. But rank-and-file Republicans are also waiting for their leadership to make a play call.
One play call could be getting the House to vote on that clean CR, coupled with the three other spending bills, later this week.
However, the House has the "three-day rule." That requires legislation be posted for three days before the House votes. If the House is going to vote before its scheduled recess, then that would be Thursday. And that also means the House must vote to post the bill on Monday.
The House currently has 432 members — 219 Republicans and 213 Democrats. (Chip Somodevilla)
But exactly what the House may post is unclear.
Moreover, it’s unclear if the House could even approve a stopgap spending package.
It’s about the math.
The House currently has 432 members: 219 Republicans and 213 Democrats. That means Republicans can only lose two on their side and pass the bill. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) – and perhaps others – are likely to oppose a Band-Aid spending bill. And Democrats may not vote yes because of all the reasons above. Plus, they are in the minority. They will expect the majority to "figure it out."
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Such a scenario could only amplify tensions on Capitol Hill – which are already sky-high because of Kirk.
Expect a lot more verbal jeering and disagreements from Congress before this is resolved.
Chad Pergram currently serves as a senior congressional correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based out of Washington, D.C.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/congress-weighs-58m-security-funding-charlie-kirk-vigil-planned-tonight-amid-deadline-pressure