Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called the spending bill unveiled by Congress on Saturday “terrible” on its defense and border allocations, but expressed confidence that the government would not shut down come Friday.
Congress is facing a March 14 deadline to pass the bill or a government shutdown would take effect. The House releasing the bill text this weekend gives them less than a week to negotiate the details to secure the votes needed to pass it.
“I believe we won’t shut the government down come Friday, but the CR is terrible on defense and the border,” Graham said on Fox News Sunday. “I want to commit — we’re gonna have more money for border and defense before I vote for the CR but I think we’ll keep the government funded. The only thing we need to be shutting down is Iran’s nuclear program and not our government.”
The bill calls for $892.5 billion in defense spending, which is an $8 billion increase from 2024. Additionally, another $9.9 billion in funding is allotted for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This will be key to enforcing President Donald Trump‘s mass deportation plan.
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This resolution will keep the government open through Sept. 30.
Republican lawmakers have a slim majority in the House, with the lower chamber composed of 218 Republicans and 215 Democrats. Trump also picked former Florida Republican Rep. Mike Waltz to be his national security advisor and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) as his U.N. ambassador, which has made the majority even smaller. As a result, Stefanik hasn’t been confirmed as Congress waits to vote on the federal budget.