Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries discussed extending government funding past a Sept. 30 deadline into November or December when the two spoke last week, according to three people granted anonymity to discuss the private conversation.

Two of the people familiar with the call said Johnson floated the short-term stopgap to Jeffries, which would avoid a government shutdown on Oct. 1 and delay what could be a bitter standoff over federal spending.

Senior Republicans discussed the upcoming funding deadline during a closed-door meeting in Johnson’s office Tuesday afternoon. Johnson said in the meeting that Jeffries floated passing a continuing resolution to keep government funded.

“The question was raised several times, and there is no plan yet,” said one person granted anonymity to describe the private meeting in the speaker’s office.

Johnson told reporters he was still building consensus within his GOP ranks about the precise duration of a potential stopgap, while House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Tuesday that GOP leaders are also talking with Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) pursuing a broader government funding deal with Democrats in the meantime.

Jeffries told reporters Tuesday he had a “general conversation” with Johnson last week and stressed the need for negotiations among congressional leaders, which have not yet begun with just four weeks until government funding lapses.

“I also made clear we’re not going to support partisan funding legislation, period,” Jeffries added.

Asked if he thought Republicans could get a short-term CR across the floor before Sept. 30, Texas Rep. August Pfluger, chair of the Republican Study Committee, said leaving the meeting Tuesday that “it’s been done before.”

House Republicans under Johnson pulled off a major feat this spring when they united behind a plan to pass a full-year continuing resolution, which forced Senate Democrats to swallow a GOP-written bill they opposed to avoid taking blame for a shutdown.

Asked if House Republicans could pass a CR by themselves if they had to, Scalise said, “We’ve proven in the past that if need be, we will get there on our own.”

“But right now,” he added, “we’re trying to get a bipartisan deal, and I have complete confidence in Chairman Cole and his ability to find willing participants on the other side.”

GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson launched her campaign Tuesday for Iowa’s open Senate seat, aiming to replace two-term Sen. Joni Ernst in the red-leaning state.

Hinson, who has served in the House since 2021, has long been seen as a potential successor to Ernst, who announced earlier in the day that she won’t run for reelection.

Hinson hinted at jumping into the race in a post on X just minutes after Ernst said she wouldn’t seek reelection — then confirmed it later with a follow-up announcement on social media.

“I’m all in,” she wrote. “I’m running for the United States Senate to fight alongside President Trump and deliver on the America First agenda.”

POLITICO previously reported on Hinson’s plans to announce a Senate bid.

Several Democrats are also vying for the seat, including state Sen. Zach Wahls and state Rep. Josh Turek, a four-time Paralympic basketball player who captured gold medals for the U.S. in 2016 and 2021.

GOP Rep. Thomas Massie filed a discharge petition Tuesday afternoon to force the disclosure of Justice Department investigative files related to the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Massie filed the petition, which could allow the House to sidestep GOP leaders’ efforts to quash his bipartisan effort, shortly after Speaker Mike Johnson gaveled the chamber into session. Working with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), the Kentucky Republican now needs to convince 216 additional House members to sign it.

Massie said Tuesday he’s confident he has enough support to reach that threshold and force a floor vote, but he insisted he is not whipping votes. He said other Republicans have told him the White House is pressuring some GOP supporters of his measure to stand down.

“I don’t have a spreadsheet or anything like that, but I do know that the White House is working pretty hard to try to get my co-sponsors not to sign it,” he said.

Democrats are expected to support the measure en masse. Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, the top Rules Committee Democrats, said he signed the petition almost immediately after it was filed.

Rules Committee Democrats, he said, will propose during a Tuesday afternoon panel meeting bringing up legislation that mirrors the Massie-Khanna measure.

House Rules Chair Virginia Foxx says Republicans will not seek to turn off Rep. Thomas Massie’s discharge petition effort in her panel.

The North Carolina Republican said “No,” when asked in a brief interview Tuesday if Republicans would try such an effort via the Rules Committee.

GOP leaders have been trying to avoid such a move for now. Massie plans to unveil his discharge petition today to force a vote on his bipartisan bill to compel the Justice Department to release its entire Epstein-related file.

Speaker Mike Johnson said he planned to meet with a group of Epstein victims later Tuesday on the Hill.

“I would not put much stock into what Thomas Massie says,” the speaker said of the Kentucky Republican. “The House Republicans have been very consistent about maximum disclosure and maximum transparency with the Epstein file, but we had to do the way that would protect the innocent victims of these horrific crimes.”

House members are wasting no time laying the groundwork this week for a confrontation with GOP leaders over releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Freshly back in Washington from the August recess, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) plans to take the formal steps at 2 p.m. today to file a discharge petition, the procedural maneuver necessary to bypass leadership and force a vote on his resolution compelling the DOJ to unseal the files related to the late, convicted sex offender.

Once he does that, Massie said in a social media post Tuesday morning, he can begin gathering the necessary 218 signatures required to bring the resolution to the floor. He said in an interview last week he expects to secure that number quickly. Massie also has co-sponsored the measure with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), so a combination of support from virtually all Democrats and at least a handful of Republicans all but guarantees the two lawmakers will meet that threshold.

A bipartisan group of House members, including leadership of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is set to convene a closed-door meeting with Epstein’s victims Tuesday afternoon, according to a person granted anonymity to share details of a private event.

A group of Epstein’s victims also plan to hold a rally on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning, separate from a long-scheduled press conference Khanna and Massie will host with victims around that same time to highlight their discharge petition effort.

Despite GOP leaders’ efforts to quell the Epstein crisis over the recess, Massie said, “this has not gone away like the speaker had hoped.”

Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler made his impending retirement official in a Tuesday statement where he said it was “the right time to pass the torch to a new generation.”

The 78-year-old New Yorker, who has represented parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn in a 33-year House career, is stepping aside amid a broader thirst for generational change in the Democratic Party. Nadler, in an earlier interview with The New York Times, cited Joe Biden’s loss to Donald Trump in his decision to retire.

“When I step down at the end of this term, I will have served for 50 years in continuous elected public service to the people of New York,” Nadler said Tuesday.

He rose to be the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, but he relinquished the position last year amid questions in the Democratic Caucus about his ability to stand up to Trump and a challenge from Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).

Nadler’s retirement will prompt a highly competitive primary in the deep-blue district, which currently includes midtown Manhattan north to Central Park. He was already facing a primary challenge from a candidate who sought to make age a factor in the race, and The New York Times reported Monday that Nadler would back state Rep. Micah Lasher, a former Nadler aide.

Congress is back. Lawmakers have more than just a looming government shutdown fight on their hands.

An upcoming vote on the Jeffrey Epstein files and the next phase of President Donald Trump’s takeover of Washington could threaten the chances of reaching a funding deal ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline.

Here’s what to watch heading into September.

GOVERNMENT FUNDING TALKS — Senate GOP leaders and appropriators are pushing for a short-term funding patch to buy extra time for a larger deal. But that’s certain to face pushback from conservatives who want to jam Democrats with a full-year funding bill that reflects Republican priorities.

Trump increased the risk of a shutdown Friday when he moved to unilaterally claw back roughly $5 billion in foreign aid funding, further eroding already-frayed bipartisan trust. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sent a Dear Colleague letter Tuesday calling on Republicans to work across the aisle to get their support on government funding.

“Senate Republicans must decide: stand up for the legislative branch or enable Trump’s slide toward authoritarianism,” Schumer said in the letter, adding that he spoke with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the two are aligned.

EPSTEIN FILES — Expect the discharge petition standoff to come to a head this week. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said he and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) will start the process of forcing a vote “immediately” now that lawmakers are back.

“This has not gone away like the speaker had hoped,” Massie told POLITICO in an interview. “If anything, now that the DOJ is releasing documents, it’s increasing the momentum.”

Rep. Riley Moore, a West Virginia Republican, indicated over recess that he will support the discharge petition, adding to Massie’s confidence that they can gather the necessary 218 signatures. The GOP dissent threatens Speaker Mike Johnson’s control over the House as the shutdown deadline approaches.

D.C. AND TRUMP’S MYSTERIOUS CRIME BILL — Trump wants Republicans to assemble a comprehensive crime bill, fast. Over recess, DOJ officials spoke with a small group of Republican staffers about assembling a crime package, according to two Republicans granted anonymity to discuss the early talks.

The president is also pressuring Congress to extend his 30-day takeover of the D.C. police, which expires Sept. 9. Senate Democrats are all but certain to block him.

What else we’re watching: 

— Stock trading bans: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), who has been threatening to launch a discharge petition to force action on Rep. Tim Burchett’s (R-Tenn.) ban on congressional stock trading, plans to give GOP leaders until the end of September to act on their own terms. A group of bipartisan House lawmakers say they plan to unveil a separate compromise soon, but GOP leaders have yet to sign on to any ban.

— Senate rules changes: Republicans are expected to resume talks on changing Senate rules to accelerate the confirmation of Trump’s nominees during closed-door lunches this week. Ideas under discussion include reducing debate time for most nominees, confirming nominees in groups or eliminating the need for procedural votes.

— Appropriations work resumes: House Rules will consider the fiscal 2026 Energy-Water funding bill Tuesday. A House Appropriations subcommittee will mark up the fiscal 2026 Labor-HHS-Education funding bill Tuesday as well.

Meredith Lee Hill and Jordain Carney contributed to this report.