GOP divisions emerge over end date for funding bill to end shutdown [View all]

Source: The Hill

11/05/25 6:00 AM ET


A scrap is emerging among Republicans on Capitol Hill over how long a stopgap spending bill should last as part of a deal to end a record-setting government shutdown.

Republicans have been clamoring for Democrats to strike a deal to reopen the government for weeks, but an intraparty brouhaha has been developing in the background. There is widespread agreement that the Nov. 21 end date of the House-passed bill won’t leave lawmakers enough time to work out funding for the rest of the year, but top negotiators are at odds over what the length of the bill should be.

The question, specifically, is whether the measure, known as a continuing resolution (CR), should last until before Christmas — as Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) is clamoring for — or into January, the preference of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and conservatives in both chambers.

“That discussion is ongoing. There’s a big argument to be made for January, and there’s a big argument to be made for Dec. 19,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), an appropriator and a top ally of Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.). At the heart of the dispute is the unwillingness of conservatives to be jammed with a massive Christmas omnibus spending bill.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5589424-gop-divisions-end-date-funding-bill-shutdown/