House Speaker Mike Johnson Proposes Stopgap Spending Bill to Avert Government Shutdown Ahead of March 1 Deadline.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has suggested that a stopgap spending bill could be put up for a vote this week to avoid a partial government shutdown. The plan was discussed in a call with the 12 chairs of the House Appropriations subcommittees. This indicates that there is not enough time to resolve policy and spending differences before the March 1 deadline to extend funding for four appropriations bills. This comes as Senate leaders have admitted that a short-term spending bill may be necessary to give negotiators more time to work through outstanding disagreements.