Congress’ top appropriators are finalizing a bipartisan agreement on overall government funding totals as House Republican leaders forge ahead with a different plan President Donald Trump has endorsed to avoid a shutdown.

The impending deal on funding totals comes far too late to save Congress from having to clear a funding patch next week to avert a government shutdown set to begin just after midnight on March 14. Whether that continuing resolution lasts just a few weeks — or spans through September, as Trump prefers — remains an open question.

Despite the tentative agreement among appropriators for funding “toplines,” House Republican leaders still aim to hold a vote next week on a Trump-backed plan for a “full-year” continuing resolution that keeps the military and non-defense agencies operating on “flat” funding levels through the Sept. 30 — the end of the current fiscal year.

“I’m counting on the full-year CR. I think that’s the only plan that works,” Speaker Mike Johnson said in an interview Wednesday afternoon.

Trying to whip support for that plan, Trump met at the White House on Wednesday afternoon with a group of House Republicans, including members of the House Freedom Caucus.

If House GOP leaders can’t rally enough Republican votes to pass that plan next week amid widespread opposition among Democrats, Johnson will face pressure to bring a shorter patch to the floor. A continuing resolution that funds the government for a month or two could keep alive the possibility of clearing bipartisan funding bills that update federal spending levels.

The “full-year” proposal faces opposition from top Democrats, who want higher funding levels and argue that the plan would give Trump and Elon Musk more power to dismantle federal agencies through the efforts of the Department of Government Efficiency.

The so-called “topline” agreement among appropriators would be the first step toward clearing final government funding bills, setting overall totals for the military and non-defense programs. But several more weeks of negotiations, and Trump’s blessing, would be needed to finalize and pass bills that update funding levels for federal agencies.

Nicholas Wu and Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump made progress Wednesday in convincing GOP holdouts to back a government funding extension ahead of a March 14 shutdown deadline.

Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) said in a brief interview Wednesday after an afternoon meeting with Trump at the White House that he is now open to supporting the six-month funding patch that Speaker Mike Johnson and Trump are pushing.

Burlison was undecided going into the meeting with the president and other House GOP fiscal hawks.

“I’ve never voted for a CR, but I’m willing to consider it to back the president, if necessary, if it gives him some wiggle room,” he said, adding that he wanted to “get to a place where we actually cut spending.”

Trump, Burlison added, is “not a fan of the whole situation that we’re in, either, but we got to get past this point.”

Johnson and Trump have several other holdouts to convince. But two key House Freedom Caucus members, Reps. Chip Roy of Texas and Andy Harris of Maryland, told reporters at the White House Wednesday that they believe other holdouts will get on board following the president’s latest push.

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), another holdout, said he was still “listening” and looking to see “what their definition of a clean CR” was after the meeting, referring to a continuing resolution, the technical name for the stopgap bill. Burchett said he was still seeking a reduction in spending.

With just over a week until the shutdown deadline, Hill Republicans are trying to tee up a funding bill that would extend current government funding levels until September. Democrats are signaling they’ll oppose the legislation, giving GOP leaders little room for error.

GOP Sen. Susan Collins received a warm welcome across the Capitol Wednesday at the House Republican Study Committee’s weekly lunch, where the moderate from Maine talked with staunch conservatives about tough realities for funding the government ahead of the March 14 shutdown deadline.

The meeting at which the Senate Appropriations Committee chair was a special guest served partly as a rally for bicameral cooperation in a hard-fought Republican trifecta — and partly as a wake up call for what will actually be achievable over the next nine days.

“I really enjoyed the opportunity to talk with them and give an update from the Senate perspective on where we are on the negotiations on the CR and our common goal for preventing a government shutdown,” Collins told a small group of reporters of her meeting with the House Republicans with whom she rarely interfaces directly.

While Republicans hold majorities in both chambers, they still face an uphill battle in passing a continuing resolution, or CR, to fund federal operations through September. The party has extremely narrow margins in the House, and at least seven Democrats in the Senate will be needed to clear anything. Many fiscal hawks are also balking at having to vote for a funding bill that holds spending at current levels and doesn’t incorporate new conservative policy priorities.

Collins acknowledged concerns from House Republicans and answered multiple questions from attendees. But the senator has also been working to salvage stalled negotiations on a longer-term funding deal, in which case a much shorter stopgap spending measure could come into play to buy leaders more time.

Multiple House Republicans members exiting the meeting said the funding patch through September was the dominant path discussed at the closed-door meeting, with Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), who chairs a House appropriations subcommittee, mentioned that a shorter term funding patch came up but “at this point, it doesn’t look promising we can get more than that.”

Speaker Mike Johnson also attended the meeting, appearing alongside Collins to make a hard pitch for Republicans in both chambers to support that government funding strategy.

“The reality there is that they have to have Democrats. But I hope that all members of the Senate will look at this very soberly,” Johnson said in a brief interview, referring to his colleagues across the Capitol. “A government shutdown doesn’t serve anyone. And regardless of who’s to blame for this — we’ve got to make sure the government is funded.”

Republican Study Committee Chair August Pfluger of Texas, who invited Collins to speak to the House’s largest caucus, said he wanted rank-and-file members to have more insight into the Senate’s process and key tension points.

“It’s very helpful for us to understand the realities over there. That doesn’t mean that we don’t push for as much savings as we can garner, but then it’s an expectation management drill,” Pfluger told a small group of reporters. “She has a tremendous amount of experience in the Senate. She knows these pressure points.”

Members of the Senate Commerce Committee, led by Sen. Ted Cruz, clashed in a rancorous hearing Wednesday morning over the GOP’s push to subpoena documents from the Massachusetts Port Authority related to its sheltering of migrants in Boston Logan Airport.

It was an unusually testy meeting for a panel that has long prided itself on being bipartisan and subdued — and provided a preview of the type of fireworks that could become the norm with the firebrand Texas Republican wielding the gavel.

“Going back at least 20 years, the chair and ranking member of this committee typically work together and reach consensus on subpoenas being issued because there is no question the matter being investigated is improper or the party being investigated was not being cooperative,” said ranking member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.).

Up until July, the Massachusetts Port Authority — or Massport — had permitted migrants to sleep at the airport as the state lacked the sufficient number beds at official shelters to house the flow of immigrants coming into the region. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat, then prohibited the practice, but migrants have reportedly been continuing to stay there.

Jennifer Mehigan, a spokesperson for Massport, said in a statement that “no families have stayed at the airport” since Healey’s order and that it is “working closely with the Committee and appreciate their patience as we gather the documents to voluntarily comply fully with their request.”

But Cruz is unsatisfied, saying he must resort to efforts to subpoena documents as the Port Authority refused to comply with his request for information. On Wednesday, Cruz accused Massport of violating federal grant requirements.

“In recent years, the Senate has allowed our oversight muscles to atrophy. Oversight rarely occurs in our standing committees, and I believe our country is worse off for it. … It’s a front where I will continue to lead as chairman,” Cruz said. “Massport apparently believes that the Senate has no jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”

The committee recessed before members could vote to allow for the subpoena, lacking a quorum to proceed. Members plan to return later in the day Wednesday to approve Cruz’s subpoena request, which is expected to be advanced along party lines.

Before then, Democrats fiercely objected to the exercise. They argued the issue has already been resolved, the subpoena effort was premature and Cruz has not yet exhausted all his options to get the information he is seeking. They said that Massport has promised to respond in writing to Cruz’s requests by March 10 and that the subpoena undermines the committee’s tradition of bipartisanship.

Cruz is already working to expand his own subpoena authority as committee chair to allow him to issue unilateral subpoenas without buy-in from the ranking member or even a full committee vote. It would be a major break in precedent that has given some Republicans and members of the White House pause, particularly as Cruz has promised to haul in Big Tech CEOs with whom members of the Trump administration are cozy.

In an interview, Cruz sidestepped whether he was still seeking that expansive authority, which would require a vote to change the committee rules: “We’re going to exercise subpoena power to carry out our oversight responsibilities. The committee will be vigorous on oversight.”

Back in the committee hearing room on Wednesday, Cruz and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) sparred extensively over the subpoena vote, at times raising their voices. Markey said Cruz’s investigation into his home state was a “fishing expedition.”

Cruz fired back: “Apparently the senator from Massachusetts believes it is a fishing expedition to want to know and if violent criminal illegal aliens threaten or actually committed acts of violence against the traveling public.”

The committee did, however, vote to adopt an amendment from Markey that would allow the committee to examine the circumstances around Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision to send asylum-seekers from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard rather than to Florida, DeSantis’ state, where the immigrants were trying to go. Markey was attempting to challenge Cruz and his fellow Republicans to shine a light on his own party’s practices when it comes to sheltering immigrants, but Cruz didn’t take the bait.

“This amendment raises an important point,” Cruz said, citing legislation he introduced in 2021 to send migrants from Texas to other states including California and Massachusetts — places where “rich liberals sip Chardonnay” and “don’t want 12 million people invading them.”

Cruz also on Wednesday said he canceled another vote on issuing subpoenas for the online service provider Bonterra, which he argues has deplatformed conservatives, and for the consulting firm Newpoint Strategies related to diversity training for federal workers. Both entities complied with the requests for information, Cruz explained.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sidestepped questions Wednesday about Democratic lawmakers’ efforts to disrupt President Donald Trump’s address to Congress.

“We’re going to keep the focus on the American people — that’s where the focus should be,” he said. “Republicans are crashing the economy in real time and trying to enact the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. That’s unacceptable.”

The New York Democrat said he hadn’t spoken yet to Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), who was escorted off the House floor after standing up to interrupt Trump early in his speech. Jeffries said he planned to have that conversation.

House Republicans on Wednesday raced to introduce resolutions to censure Green for his protest, with the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) and Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) all saying they intended to introduce sanctions. Censure measures can be privileged, meaning they can bypass House committees and be brought up on the House floor in a matter of days. Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday night Green should face censure for his conduct.

Democratic leaders had counseled lawmakers heading into last night’s speech to mount a “solemn” response to take props and signs elsewhere. Despite the guidance, lawmakers still interrupted Trump, shouted and waved signs at him.

Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) — chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which organized some of the sign-based protests — told reporters Wednesday that their demonstration “fit very squarely” within the leadership guidance to stay on message and focus on the impact of Trump’s policies. Members waved signs about potential cuts to Medicaid and protecting veterans.

House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) appeared to defend the demonstrations, telling reporters she was “angry” about Trump’s address: “Let’s not talk about decorum when the plot is exposed and reiterated every single day.”

Members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus are planning to introduce a resolution to censure Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), who was booted from President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress Tuesday night.

Green stood up and shouted that Trump had “no mandate” before Speaker Mike Johnson ordered that he be ejected.

A censure is a formal punishment for a member of Congress who acts in a manner deemed unbecoming of a lawmaker.

President Donald Trump did not offer GOP congressional leaders any easy lay-ups in his joint address Tuesday night, sending mixed messages on his existing legislative priorities and proposing others that ranged from impractical to totally unrealistic.

Trump reiterated his campaign-trail promises to end taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security — policies House Republicans worry are too expensive to combine with permanently extending the president’s tax cuts from 2017.

He pressed Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, by name, to send through more money for his deportation agenda “without delay” — an ask that could give Senate Republicans renewed leverage to demand the House agree to their preference for passing Trump’s border and energy policies now and moving a separate bill with his tax cuts later.

But Trump also emphasized the importance of tax cuts, a potential nod to the House’s desire to enact one bill encompassing all three priorities. And he made a new call for no taxes on American-made cars.

Trump’s legislative proposals got tougher from there. The president bashed the CHIPS and Science Act — which passed with bipartisan support in 2022 and has led to major investments in red districts and states — telling Johnson to “get rid” of the law and use “whatever’s left over … to reduce the debt or any other reason you want to.” Johnson stood and applauded. Other Republicans were less enthusiastic.

“I’ve supported the CHIPS Act,” Rep. Mike Lawler said. “Obviously, the investment in chip manufacturing is critical, and certainly in New York, it’s an important investment as we move forward.”

Sen. Todd Young, a key architect of the CHIPS Act, ran out of the chamber on the phone a few minutes before the joint address ended and wouldn’t stop to talk to reporters. Others who voted for the bill, such as Sens. Susan Collins, Roger Wicker and Bill Cassidy, did not answer questions, either.

Other improbable acts Trump floated included codifying his executive order that mandates the death penalty for anyone who murders a police officer and building a “golden dome” missile system around the United States — akin to Israel’s so-called Iron Dome complex.

Democrats, of course, won’t help with any of this — even before their show of rebellion Tuesday night. Texas Rep. Al Green was ejected early in Trump’s speech after repeatedly shouting the president had “no mandate.” (Johnson is now calling to censure him). Others held up signs reading “Musk Steals,” “Save Medicaid” and “Protect Veterans.” They didn’t join the escort committee that led Trump into the chamber and many refused to clap, even during bipartisan moments in the speech. Some left early.

Trump seemed to relish in Democrats’ discontent, saying that there was “absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy.”

What else we’re watching:

• Musk on the Hill: Musk will meet with the House GOP conference tonight to “give an update on his efforts” and discuss codifying DOGE’s cuts in a future government funding package, Johnson has said. Republicans have faced growing backlash in their districts to Musk’s mass firings of federal workers and congressional Republicans considering possible Medicaid reductions. 
• Hard-liners at the White House: Fiscal conservatives are meeting with Trump at the White House this afternoon as the president and GOP leaders personally lobby to get holdouts on board. But fiscal conservatives are playing hardball and say that if the speaker adds any additional funding to the shutdown-averting bill, then they will demand changes to Johnson’s budget resolution.
• Sanctuary city mayors testify: Four Democratic mayors — Eric Adams of New York City, Michelle Wu of Boston, Brandon Johnson of Chicago, and Mike Johnston of Denver — will testify before the House Oversight Committee at 10 a.m. about their so-called sanctuary city policies. Republicans are set to excoriate them for their lack of cooperation with the administration’s immigration-enforcement agenda. The mayors have been preparing in hopes of avoiding a spectacle — but they haven’t been coordinating much with each other, Wu said Tuesday.

Jennifer Scholtes, Nicholas Wu and Hailey Fuchs contributed to this report.