Congress barrels toward shutdown deadline with few signs of progress on funding bill

Washington — Congress is barreling toward a deadline to avert a government shutdown in just over two weeks, with Democrats and Republicans at odds over whether there should be guardrails on President Trump's ability to withhold funding approved by Congress.  

Democrats want to insert language in the funding bill to ensure that the administration implements the spending directed by Congress, a reaction to Mr. Trump and top adviser Elon Musk's work to downsize large swaths of the executive branch. But Republicans have made it clear that they won't accept those terms.

Government funding expires on March 14, and keeping the government open past the deadline will likely require bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. Republicans control 53 seats in the Senate, but a funding measure requires 60 votes for passage. In the House, Republicans are operating with a razor-thin majority and a divided conference in which conservatives regularly vote against government spending bills.