Republicans eye fresh funding fight as shutdown standoff drags on

With the stalemate over federal funding showing no clear signs of easing, some House and Senate Republicans are beginning to reckon with the possibility of running out of time before the next government shutdown deadline.

Senate Democrats have now rejected the GOP's bill, a short-term measure to keep the government funded through Nov. 21, called a continuing resolution (CR), eight times - and are expected to sink it again Wednesday afternoon.

CRs are traditionally used to give congressional negotiators more time to strike a longer-term deal on government spending. Yet the bill Republicans hoped would originally give them seven more weeks past the end of fiscal year (FY) 2025 on Sept. 30 has dwindled down to just over five, assuming Democrats change their tune this week.

Both House and Senate Republicans who spoke with Fox News Digital have acknowledged that it's at least possible the Nov. 21 date will need to be modified.

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"That's an important question that we're all discussing," Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., who has served in Congress since 2009, told Fox News Digital. "It may well be that we'll need to extend that deadline further in order to make up for the time we've lost during the shutdown."

However, McClintock said he was more in favor of a new CR after the current measure expires, rather than starting from scratch on a new bill. The Nov. 21 CR passed in the House - largely along party lines - on Sept. 19, and most House Republicans have been united in now putting the onus on the Senate.

"I think we need to pass the CR that's in the Senate and then assess if we need additional time," he said.

Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., a senior member of the committee tasked with spearheading federal funding talks, also acknowledged that more time could be needed. He blamed Senate Democrats for stalling the GOP bill and noted the House had already passed 12 individual appropriations bills out of his committee.

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"We felt like we were in a really good spot and were coming to a lot of agreement," he said of the House Appropriations Committee's work. "And I feel like this set us back quite dramatically."

Meanwhile, another House Republican familiar with the appropriations process told Fox News Digital they'd heard of preliminary discussions about combining three bills that have passed both the House and Senate floor - dealing with military construction and veterans' affairs, the legislative branch and agriculture - as a combined "minibus" alongside an additional 10-day CR.

The House and Senate have already voted to set up a "conference committee" on those three bills, a formal working group of sorts aimed at giving lawmakers room to make a compromise.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., acknowledged discussions about the date during a media call with the Republican Study Committee last week.

"I mean, the longer [Democrats] delay this, the closer we get to that seven-week added deadline to Nov. 21, and it makes it very difficult to complete the process… with regard to the regular order on appropriations," Johnson told Fox News Digital. 

"So there is some discussion," he said. "There's a lot of angst about that. We haven't made final determinations yet, because it's first things first, and we're taking it day by day. But I'll tell you, of course, obviously the leadership has to keep a close eye on these things."

He distanced himself from the idea of a new CR during a Wednesday press conference, however, telling reporters, "It would do us no good to pass yet another CR out of the House, because it will meet the same fate. Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats want to close the government down."

A new CR could be a potentially bruising political fight for the House and Senate, considering Republicans' historic aversion to short-term federal funding extensions.

And while Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Republicans remain largely adamant that the House's bill is the one they want to use, Thune didn't shut down the idea of changing the date.

"We keep losing time on the clock, which could be used to do the normal appropriations process," he said. "So, you know, I mean, I think that that's a point of discussion and certainly something I've expressed an opening about."

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., who has been one of a handful of Senate Republicans meeting with Senate Democrats throughout the shutdown, told Fox News Digital that the longer the shutdown goes on, "It becomes less realistic that we can have a funding bill."

"We'll have to open the government back up, and then I can see a real possibility of us having to extend that date," he said.

Others in the Senate GOP appeared more rigid in their thinking, however, and wanted to stick with the original plan.

"I don't think a new deadline is going to help," Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Fox News Digital. "This is up to the Democrats. We've asked for no conditions, it's a clean CR. Their demands are not serious. Until they back off their unserious demands, we're going to stay shut down."

And Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., argued that Republicans should just keep going with the same bill and warned that changes could further delay reopening the government.

"Whatever we do, we still gotta go back, renegotiate with the House," he said. "If you start changing dates, we gotta have a new document, start all over again, it gets delayed again."

Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla., another House Appropriations Committee member, similarly pushed for the Nov. 21 deadline to remain in place.

"I really think we should stick with [Nov. 21]. I would remind folks that we actually, on the House side, have passed all 12 appropriations bills," Bice said. "I don't think that extending the date right now is the best."

"The focus right now has to be on reopening the government. We can't do anything until that happens."