JUST IN: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be visiting Washington next week and meeting with key members of Congress as part of his visit to the U.S. for the UN general assembly, a person with direct knowledge told POLITICO’s Adam Cancryn. THE HOUSE TRIES TO WORK SOME SPENDING MAGIC When the day started, the Senate was riding high as it prepared to take up a big appropriations package, while the House was in open revolt over its own spending situation. Now, it appears, the roles might be reversed: The Senate now appears to be stuck — more on that below — while there's fresh energy in the House behind a Republican effort to break their internal logjam As Olivia, Sarah and Jordain scooped, the brewing House deal aims to unite the GOP behind a short-term stopgap and potentially unstick the full-year Defense bill that foundered Wednesday due to conservative opposition. What we know: The House GOP talks are being spearheaded by the Freedom Caucus and the business-oriented Main Street Caucus. Under the emerging plan, Republicans would pass a stopgap spending bill with their sweeping border bill attached, minus the mandatory E-Verify language that gave some of their members heartburn. The funding patch would also include spending cuts to placate some on the right flank, most of whom have never backed a stopgap bill. It would also pave the way for action on the massive Defense spending bill that has been stalled for days, sparking frustration across the GOP. Reality check: The talks are not a done deal, with plenty of details still to be worked out. Early reviews from the Freedom Caucus have been mixed. Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), who emerged from an HFC meeting this evening, said there wasn't "consensus" within the group just yet. And, to be clear, even if this emerging plan is executed to a T, it would not prevent a shutdown, as Democrats (and some Republicans) in the Senate are certain to reject its terms. But after days of chaos, the talks are a glimmer of hope for McCarthy that his conference can coalesce behind a plan — one that could give House Republicans a rallying point as they brace for negotiations with the Senate. Just as important, it would offer McCarthy a release valve — at least a temporary one — for his increasingly fractured conference, just as some of his allies start to kvetch that he needs to take a firmer line against his right flank. Hardball with the hardliners: The tactics those McCarthy allies are floating include putting the Defense bill on the floor and essentially daring conservative hard-liners to vote against it. Some want him to put forward a “clean†short-term funding bill to buy them a month or two of more time — a move that would prompt a vote of no confidence, according to some on the right. Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) put it like this: “You can give them everything they want, they’re still not going to vote for it. We’ve got to get away from it and start dealing with trying to get 218 votes. Which means you have to work with some Democrats, which means there will be a motion to vacate the chair. There's going to be one anyway. The sooner McCarthy takes that on, the better.†Movement in the middle: A bipartisan group of centrists is also starting to talk about how to move a short-term spending patch as they try to find a shutdown off-ramp. One member of the group cautioned the idea isn’t ripe — it’s certain to spark fierce backlash from the right — but that the group isn’t going to “sit by†and let the government shut down. Meanwhile … House Democrats are preparing for the worst. Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) is holding a members-only briefing on “how to best serve your constituents during a government shutdown†next Wednesday, according to an invitation obtained by Nicholas. — Jordain Carney and Sarah Ferris, with assist from Olivia Beavers
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