Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday he and his Republican colleagues are eager to pass temporary funding legislation keeping the government open through Dec. 20.
The Kentucky senator indicated his GOP colleagues in the Senate and President Trump have an appetite to clear a government shutdown fight from their plate before heading out of D.C. for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.
Mr. McConnell acknowledged negotiations were “again behind schedule” but sounded optimistic that the additional time would provide them the time necessary to complete the appropriations process.
“We need to get results on appropriations before the end of the year,” Mr. McConnell said on the Senate floor. “So while the House and Senate continue negotiations on setting the allocations, we need to buy more time. The House and Senate need to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government through Dec. 20 and allow these talks to continue.
“We will wait to receive legislation from the House and then vote on it before we head back to our home states,” he said.
Previously, Senate Republicans had sounded skeptical that any agreement to fund the government into next month would be reached.
The House is poised to vote as soon as Tuesday on the stopgap funding resolution to keep the government open temporarily.
Funding for the government is set to expire Thursday unless the agreement is reached in advance of the deadline.
• Ryan Lovelace can be reached at rlovelace@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.