Senate Republicans eye short-term funding bill without Ukraine money to avert shutdown 

Senate Republicans are discussing a short-term government funding measure, perhaps lasting only two weeks, that would not include any significant money for Ukraine or disaster relief as part of a last-ditch effort to avoid a government shutdown.  

Senate Republicans at lunch debated proposing a clean two-week continuing resolution (CR) to buy more time for themselves to draft a border security amendment.  

“There’s the idea of a short-term two-week CR,” said one Republican senator who attended the Friday lunch meeting. “It would have the salutary effect of keeping the government going.”  

“I think some people are warming up to it, otherwise we’re going to shut the government down tomorrow night,” the senator said.  

Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) said he thought Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) would take the two-week CR “to the floor shortly to see how it flies.”

Other Senate conservatives spoke up in favor of a short-term funding measure without Ukraine money. 

“There is a fair amount of chaos and uncertainty. There is a pretty broad agreement that a short-term CR is a much better solution than the long-term CR plus Ukraine funding,” Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) said.

“The one takeaway from lunch is that the majority of the conference I think would be much more open to a clean CR,” he added.  

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) predicted a clean short-term government funding stopgap could pass both chambers because it would move without money for Ukraine, which is a poison pill for many conservative Republicans.  

“I think the most important thing is the CR with the Ukraine funding won’t pass the House,” he said. “Everybody needs to know that. That’s what they’ve said in the House.”

“The only thing that I think will pass the House and the Senate is a clean CR without Ukraine funding on it,” he added. “I will allow consent on any clean CR without Ukraine.”