By Ursula Perano and Burgess Everett

With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team

If the House GOP can't agree to a spending patch, Senate Minority Whip John Thune said "then it looks like we're heading to a shutdown.” | AP

SENATE SLOWS TO A CRAWL WITH DAYS TO GO

With less than two weeks to go before government funding expires, the odds of a shutdown are peaking.

Here’s what’s happening: Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) on Monday afternoon moved to break the obstacle Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) had thrown in front of her chamber’s three-part spending bill. That will take 67 votes — causing a delay that’s likely to push final passage of the Senate’s so-called minibus spending plan into next week.

Needless to say, next week the government will run out of money on Friday unless Congress can agree on a solution. Which brings us to the bad news.

The hands-off Senate GOP: Less than 24 hours after conservatives started savaging a proposed stopgap plan unveiled by House GOP leaders, Senate Republican leadership is showing no signs of interest in getting ahead of Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Top GOP senators aren’t even saying they’re ready to work with Democrats on passing that spending bill Murray is trying to push through.

If House Republicans can’t agree on a spending patch, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said, “then it looks like we're heading to a shutdown.”

“We’ve got to give Speaker McCarthy the room he needs to try to figure that out,” Cornyn added, as House conservatives lined up to blast the Californian’s latest proposal. “He pulled a rabbit out of the hat on the debt ceiling. So I wouldn't underestimate him.”

Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) said “the ball’s in their court,” referring to the House.

“I hope they can execute on getting something done,” he added.

Why this is dire: The Senate’s three-part spending bill had been Democratic leaders’ best hope for showing more productivity than the currently paralyzed House. If it can’t summon a strong bipartisan vote – which Republican senators sound unwilling to promise right now – that leaves the House as the only game in town on spending.

When Cornyn and Thune – both potential successors to Minority Leader Mitch McConnell – keep deferring to McCarthy, that’s a signal that it may be very difficult to move any spending plan through the Senate before House Republicans can pass a bill of their own.

Asked if he’s hoping to see the Senate move a stopgap spending bill before the House — or whether that’d even be possible at this point — Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) simply said he doesn’t know yet.

Don’t make any Oct. 1 plans: Murray’s GOP counterpart on Appropriations, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, said in an interview that she’s focused on the Senate bills and not jumping into the House’s problems at the moment, vowing to keep “plugging along.”

But if any reader was daydreaming that the House’s latest plan could get through the Senate, if McCarthy can pull off the kind of magic trick Cornyn referenced, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has already crushed those hopes.

Schumer on Monday called the House GOP plan “reckless,” and “not a serious proposal for avoiding a shutdown.”

— Ursula Perano and Burgess Everett

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GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, Sept. 18, where your Huddle hosts are enjoying the almost-fall weather in D.C.

INSIDE ZELENSKYY’S HILL SCHEDULE

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has a packed day of meetings set up for Thursday, when he’s set to visit Capitol Hill as lawmakers weigh another tranche of aid.

For now, there’s no scheduled briefing with the full House – though Zelenskyy is slated to meet with the entire Senate, where Republicans are more openly supportive of a new aid package for his defense against Russia. Instead, Zelenskyy has meetings set with Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

In addition, a smaller group of lawmakers from the Ukraine Caucus is invited to join Zelenskyy at the National Archives, where he’s expected to give remarks.

Reminder of what’s at stake: Zelenskyy is lobbying Congress hard for approval of the $40 billion aid package that the Biden administration has pitched to help his nation’s defense against Moscow. But he’s facing serious skepticism from the House Republican majority, who omitted any Ukraine money from their latest government spending plan.

— Nicholas Wu

A message from Freight Rail Works:

SCOOP: DCCC CASH DASH

House Democrats’ campaign arm raised $8.1 million in August, according to an announcement provided first to Huddle. This total beats their previous presidential off-year August record, according to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, giving them a total of $40 million cash on hand.

“Thanks to the hard work of Leader Jeffries and a united House Democratic caucus, we are well on our way to taking back the House so that we can deliver tangible results for working families and build up the middle class,” DCCC Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) said in a statement.

House Republicans’ campaign arm hasn’t released its fundraising numbers from the same period yet, but it raked in $5.3 million in July.

— Nicholas Wu 

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FLORIDA MEN GO HEAD TO HEAD

Florida Republican Reps. Matt Gaetz and Byron Donalds are currently battling in public over a short-term funding deal Gaetz hates that Donalds helps negotiate. That could be only a preview of their next big fight – over their state’s top office.

Gaetz is long rumored to be interested in a gubernatorial run come 2026, when Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) will be term-limited out of office. Ask Donalds what he thinks of that, and you’ll get an interesting answer.

Donalds, a lead conservative negotiator of the House GOP’s latest spending plan, shrugged off fresh reports of a Gaetz run by saying: “It’s Florida. Everybody is always seeming to want to run for governor.”

And he admits that could include … him.

“Oh, yeah. I mean, people always ask me about it,” Donalds said on Monday, adding that there’s “a lot of time between now and then – we’ll see what happens.”

Donalds has previously signaled that he could be open to a run. But his latest comments, and the renewed speculation about Gaetz, comes as the two men are on opposite sides of a government funding fight that could reshape the House GOP majority.

Alongside Reps. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) and Chip Roy (R-Texas), Donalds represented the conservative Freedom Caucus in talks on a short-term spending deal that might unite the right and center of the House GOP.

Gaetz, meanwhile, has threatened to try to oust McCarthy from the speakership over his handling of the funding fight. And Gaetz was the first Republican to vow opposition to the spending deal that Donalds helped negotiate.

“It is so painful watching someone I admire so much author a continuing resolution to fund the government agencies I loathe,” Gaetz tweeted of Donalds.

— Jordain Carney

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About Southside Dirksen … The space has unveiled its latest renovations. The area — which otherwise provides gelato and coffee — has now transformed its former buffet setup into a reservable meeting space, according to new signage.

New furniture is also coming to the space this fall — and your Huddle hosts are eager to see what grand aesthetic befalls the room.

Fetterman’s dream realized: The Senate Sergeant at Arms will no longer enforce a dress code for members in the chamber, according to multiple reports. Staff, however, still must come in professional attire.

Members of the Virginia delegation and beyond are sending their best wishes to Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) after she announced she will not run for re-election due to her health.

“She is an amazing public servant, listener, and fighter for her constituents. I will miss her terribly in Congress and I’ll be keeping her in my prayers,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Sen. Chuck Grassley’s (R-Iowa) staff threw him a birthday party with lots of … u know what.

GO INSIDE THE CAPITOL DOME: From the outset, POLITICO has been your eyes and ears on Capitol Hill, providing the most thorough Congress coverage — from political characters and emerging leaders to leadership squabbles and policy nuggets during committee markups and hearings. We're stepping up our game to ensure you’re fully informed on every key detail inside the Capitol Dome, all day, every day. Start your day with Playbook AM, refuel at midday with our Playbook PM halftime report and enrich your evening discussions with Huddle. Plus, stay updated with real-time buzz all day through our brand new Inside Congress Live feature. Learn more and subscribe here.

QUICK LINKS 

Three GOP ex-congressmen’s Capitol Hill Club expenditures appear to violate federal law, by Mark Alesia at Raw Story.

Members of Congress are spending tons on security, citing increased threats. It still might not be enough, report Greg Morton, Marianna Sotomayor and Camila DeChalus at the Washington Post.

TRANSITIONS 

Ashley Roberts is promoted to Legislative Assistant for Rep. David Joyce. She was most recently staff assistant/leg aide.

Roy Awabdeh is now deputy assistant secretary of State focused on Senate affairs. He most recently was senior investigations counsel for State.

TOMORROW IN CONGRESS

The House is in session.

The Senate is in session.

TUESDAY AROUND THE HILL

9:30 a.m. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) will speak on the introduction of the Restaurant Workers Bill of Rights. (House Triangle)

10:30 a.m. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) and the Heartland Caucus will speak on Farm Bill priorities. (HVC Studio B)

Noon. Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) and Transportation Demand Management discuss improving and decarbonizing American commutes. (House Triangle)

1 p.m. Rep. Robyn Kelly (D-Ill.) will announce the CARE For Moms Act. (House Triangle)

2 p.m. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) will speak on the introduction of the rail safety bill. (House Triangle)

FRIDAY’S ANSWER: Asna Ashfaq correctly guessed that at the time of Lincoln’s assassination, only Maine allowed defendants to testify in their own defense.

TODAY’S QUESTION: Which member of Congress performed as part of a salsa band in a presidential inaugural parade?

The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to [email protected].

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