House GOP negotiating short-term spending stopgap with border security measures

House Republicans are workshopping a continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown that includes border security measures and spending cuts.

The possible package being discussed with GOP leadership and across the GOP conference would extend government funding for 30 days and include the GOP’s H.R. 2 border security bill without its provisions on E-Verify, as well as some domestic cuts, according to two Republicans who shared some of the details and a GOP staff source.

Such a proposal would likely earn no Democratic support and set up a clash with the Democratic-controlled Senate, but would set the stage for negotiations.

The government will shut down on Oct. 1 without a new funding measure.

The package was developed in part through discussions Wednesday evening with leaders from the House Freedom Caucus — which in August put out an official position demanding policy conditions on any continuing resolution — and the Main Street Caucus, a group of Republicans who bill themselves as “pragmatic” conservatives. 

“The Republican Main Street Caucus and the House Freedom Caucus are working together in good faith to establish a plan to lower spending, secure the border, and avoid a government shutdown. The talks have been productive and we’ll continue to work toward a deal,” Main Street Chairman Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and Vice Chairwoman Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.) said in a statement.

One GOP member said that plan is “laser focused on border security.”

But sources warned that the proposal is very fluid.

“They’re still whipping the votes. They’re still trying to see what’s popular, what’s not and where the [moderates] will be on certain things, where [the House Freedom Caucus] will be on certain things and where leadership is going to be on certain things,” said Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), who shared some of the details he’s heard proposed. 

Development of the plan comes after hard-line conservatives, who have been battling with GOP leadership for months over top-line numbers in spending bills, forced GOP leaders to punt consideration of a Department of Defense (DOD) appropriations bill Wednesday.

Hard-line Republicans argue that taking an aggressive stance with a stopgap bill that could risk a shutdown would put them in a strong negotiating position with the Democratic-led Senate and White House; other Republicans warn about the negative consequences of a shutdown.

“I don’t think it’s productive to have a government shutdown during that time,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters Thursday morning. “I don’t know who wins and I don’t know how that — watching the shutdowns before — how is that productive to get the objectives that you want to achieve for the American public?”

The executive committee for the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative caucus in the House, put out an official position Thursday saying that it “supports the expeditious House consideration of a short-term, conservative continuing resolution that prevents a shutdown and includes legislative solutions that have already united House Republicans and address harms inflicted by Democrats and President Biden, such as bloated and inflationary spending levels and the ongoing immigration crisis.”

Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), chairman of the Republican Study Committee, pointed to the GOP conference being able to pass a number of policy messaging bills this year with only Republican votes.

“Why wouldn’t we put that forward as our [continuing resolution] to stake out our most conservative position that’s got to earn 218 Republican votes and do that one more time?” Hern said.

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), a member of the House Freedom Caucus, said there is wide support in the House GOP for attaching changes to border policy to a continuing resolution.

Caroline Vakil and Mychael Schnell contributed.