Speaker Johnson won’t rule out stopgap bill, ‘optimistic’ Congress will meet first funding deadline

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday he was not ruling out a stopgap bill to avert a partial government shutdown on Jan. 19, but he believes Congress can finish work on spending bills by the deadline.

The Louisiana Republican, who previously signaled that he would never another pass a stopgap spending bill, said he was not ruling out another short-term fix.

“I’m not ruling out anything, committing to anything, other than getting these appropriations done, and I think we can and we’re pushing everybody hard,” Mr. Johnson said. “I mean, they’re working overtime, and dutifully, and valiantly, and I’m very optimistic we can get it done.”

Appropriators in both chambers have raised the alarm about the limited time left to finish their work. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, and Senate Minority Whip John Thune, South Dakota Republican, have both said that a stopgap will be needed to avoid a partial shutdown.

Congress has until the end of next week to pass, negotiate and get signed into law by President Biden four spending bills, which include funding for energy and water, Veterans Affairs, transportation and agriculture. The Senate has passed three of those bills, while the House has passed two.

Mr. Johnson passed a two-step stopgap bill in November that set deadlines of Jan. 19 and Feb. 2 for lawmakers to wrap up spending work, but much of the time since then was eaten up by renegotiating an overall, or top-line, spending number.

The speaker and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, unveiled the new top line of $1.65 trillion, which is roughly the same as the previously agreed-upon number, save for about $16 billion in offset spending. It’s been met with heavy criticism from House Republicans, some of whom are publicly questioning whether to oust Mr. Johnson from the speakership.

Mr. Johnson brushed off the criticism, arguing that the agreement will allow appropriators to begin negotiating their spending bills ahead of the looming deadline next week.

“I think it’s the best possible deal that conservatives and Republicans could get under these circumstances,” he said.