WASHINGTON — Government funding negotiations have stalled ahead of a key March 14 deadline to prevent a shutdown, three sources with knowledge of the talks said, as President Donald Trump’s attempts to unilaterally halt funding and overhaul agencies have damaged an already fraught push for a bipartisan deal.
Congressional leaders in both parties haven’t yet agreed on a top-line dollar amount to spend in the new fiscal year, which is the first step to fleshing out any deal, the three sources said. Two of them added that Trump’s recent actions are contributing to the lack of progress, but that they aren’t the only factor.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, told NBC News in a statement that it is “extremely difficult to reach an agreement” on how to keep the government functioning — “when the President is illegally blocking vast chunks of approved funding, when he is trying to unilaterally shutter critical agencies, and when an unelected billionaire is empowered to force his way into our government’s central, highly-sensitive payments system.”
“Democrats and Republicans alike must be able to trust that when a deal gets signed into law, it will be followed,” said Murray, who added earlier this week that “the level of trust is at the lowest I have ever seen it here in Congress — in our ability to work together.”
Democrats are discussing how to use the deadline to push back on Trump’s attempted move to freeze substantial federal aid and his administration’s effort to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development without congressional approval.
Although Republicans control both chambers of Congress, Democrats have two significant points of leverage. One is the paper-thin House majority: GOP leaders routinely face many defections from conservatives on funding the government, forcing them to lean on Democrats. The second — and larger — one is the Senate’s 60-vote threshold, which applies to government funding legislation, including short-term measures.
“We’re going to look at ways to try to confront some of these illegal actions he’s taken,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “We will use the appropriations process to try to correct some of these outrages.”
“This is obviously a big problem if you can’t trust the president to follow the law,” he said.
So far, most Republicans have cheered on Trump or downplayed his actions as he circumvents congressional spending powers. They are wary of defying Trump, who wields political power over the GOP base voters who will make or break their electoral futures.
All of that means the odds of a shutdown next month are rising, even as Murray and Democrats say that’s not what they want.
Asked Tuesday whether Trump’s actions have marred the talks, Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, said, “I have always worked in good faith with my fellow members of the Appropriations Committee, and I expect that to occur this time as well. No one wants a government shutdown.”
A top-line agreement is just the beginning. After that, lawmakers must agree on the details of where the funding goes, and cut a deal on what other policy changes, if anything, to attach to the bill. It’s also unclear if it’ll be one bill or get broken up into several pieces.
Last week, Collins wouldn’t give a deadline for when an overall spending level needs to be agreed to in order to allow enough time to prevent a shutdown, saying negotiators are “not that close.”
Jeffries: Trump trying to ‘steal taxpayer money’
Further complicating prospects for a bipartisan deal, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Monday on Fox News that Republicans “applaud” Trump’s various executive actions on and want to “really reinforce what he’s doing, the agenda through legislation.”
In a letter to colleagues this week, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said he has “made clear to House Republican leadership that any effort to steal taxpayer money from the American people, end Medicaid as we know it or defund programs important to everyday Americans, as contemplated by the illegal White House Office of Management and Budget order, must be choked off in the upcoming government funding bill, if not sooner.”
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said the onus is on Republicans “to find a way to work with Democrats to enact funding laws” while “proving that the laws we are writing will be followed.”
“We are actively negotiating final 2025 funding bills and will need those assurances,” she said, warning that Republicans “are not going to be able to pass funding bills without Democratic support with a two-seat majority.”
Democrats have filed or championed lawsuits to block some of Trump’s moves, but those can take time to make their way through the courts as the administration fights them. In the interim, the funding deadline presents a more direct tool the party can use.
“Democrats have been at the table ready to trade offers with Republicans anytime of any day, but their own conflicts within the Republican Party are constantly slowing this process down,” a Democratic aide said. “Did Trump illegally impounding funds make this easier, absolutely not. But it is not the only road block here.”
One concern that Democrats are privately grappling with is how to use the spending bill to restrain Trump. If they demand provisions requiring him to spend the money Congress passes, some may falsely construe it as an admission that current law empowers him to withhold it. And anything they discuss publicly or put in writing could become fodder for the Trump administration in court.
Sources with knowledge of the talks between Democrats say they haven’t made any decisions yet.
“That’s a very active conversation right now,” said Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., who also sits on the Appropriations Committee.
