• Congress has until March 14 to avoid government shutdown. Republicans are trying to figure out how to pass a package alone, because Democrats oppose multiple funding measures they’re trying to approve.
• Congress needs to pass a government funding bill, and a budget reconciliation package, the former has a hard deadline, the latter is still time sensitive.
• Republicans need to make budget cuts to pay for President Donald Trump’s agenda and need to get all their members on board to succeed.

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Congressional Republicans are scrambling to come up with a plan to fund the government and President Donald Trump’s agenda, just 15 days out from a government shutdown. The House and Senate both passed their own frameworks, but still need to agree to exact spending levels and where they’ll make cuts. 

“The budget resolution passed the House by one vote, there are still many who voted for it and expect some significant changes when it comes to the actual budget that they considered this year,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said. “I don’t think the Republican majority, thin as it is in the House, is out of the woods at all.”

What spending packages are still on the table?

There are two packages in play. One will fund the government. The other is a budget reconciliation bill, which provides money for Trump’s priorities like border security and tax cuts, while reducing spending in other areas to pay for it.

Getting enough support to pass either will be like threading a needle with mittens. Republicans will likely have to do it alone because Democrats oppose many of the proposed budget cuts and don’t want the Trump tax cuts extended.

“House of Representatives yesterday made a devil’s bargain,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said.  “They have made it possible for billionaires to get another big tax cut, and it’s going to be paid for with Medicaid cuts and anti-hunger cuts.”

What do the House and Senate still need to agree on?

Although the House and Senate have the same goal, they’re not on the same page as to how to achieve it. When asked if the Senate can pass the House resolution as is, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said, “Short answer is likely no. Long answer is hell no.” 

Republican leadership is currently looking at a continuing resolution to fund the government, which keeps the money flowing at current levels. 

To pay for Trump’s agenda, they’re looking into cuts across the board. The most controversial option is cuts to government assistance programs like Medicaid, although leaders say those would be focused on waste, fraud and abuse, not benefits. 

“So work requirements, sure, 100%. But anything that slashes into benefits for people who are working I’m not gonna be for it. I think that’s probably true to a lot of my colleagues,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said. 

Time and numbers may not be on their side, but the same was said as the House walked in for the budget vote the night of Tuesday, Feb. 25, and they pulled it off. 

“Frankly, if you’d asked me yesterday if they were going to be successful in the vote last night, I would have bet against it,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said Wednesday, Feb. 26. “But it just means that we keep on working.”