The “big four” congressional leaders are slated to meet with President Biden this morning to try and hash out a path forward on government funding and the foreign aid supplemental. With funding for Agriculture-FDA, Military Construction-VA, Energy-Water, and Transportation-HUD set to expire Friday at midnight without a deal, it is increasingly likely that another continuing resolution (CR) will be needed to provide additional time to strike a broader funding agreement. But given the dwindling time left to avoid a partial funding lapse — as well as the ongoing uncertainty as to how the House will proceed — some form of shutdown cannot be ruled out barring another last minute flash of bipartisan cooperation, similar to what we saw in previous funding squabbles during the 118th Congress.
On the floor… The Senate will gavel in to resume consideration of pending judicial nominations as the chamber awaits next steps in the government funding process. House lawmakers return from their Presidents’ Day district work period tomorrow.