The U.S. Congress reaches temporary funding agreement to avoid government shutdown risk in October.

US congressional leaders plan to vote this week on a three-month temporary funding bill to avoid the risk of a government shutdown on October 1. Despite former President Donald Trump pressuring the Republicans to shut down the government, House Speaker Mike Johnson reached an agreement on Sunday with the White House and Democratic leaders to keep government funding at current levels until December 20, while removing controversial provisions such as Trump's demands for national election law changes and voter identification. If Congress does not pass this short-term funding bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), the federal government will shut down at 12:01 am on October 1. US President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of the Democratic Party in New York both expressed support for the CR released on Sunday, urging the House of Representatives to quickly pass the bill. Schumer stated in a release that if both sides continue to work together sincerely, he hopes to complete the CR work within this week, well before the September 30 deadline. Last week, 14 House Republicans joined almost all Democrats in voting against a six-month funding bill that included the "Rescue Act", prompting negotiators from both parties in the House and Senate to draft a "clean" CR without any controversial provisions. The new CR text announced by Johnson will keep the government running until December 20, providing Congress with time during the contentious election period and giving lawmakers more time to reach a long-term funding agreement for the 2025 fiscal year before the holidays. The House plans to begin deliberations on the CR in mid-week. The short-term bill includes an additional $2.31 billion in funding to assist the Secret Service in responding to a suspected attempt on Trump's life that occurred on September 15. Johnson and other Republicans have urged the party not to shut down the government in the five weeks leading up to Election Day, which would be unprecedented in modern history. Republicans in swing districts have expressed concerns that this would be a bad move as their party may face backlash from voters. California Republican Congressman Mike Garcia said, "To me, even shutting down the government after the election is extremely foolish. Shutting down the government before the election is even worse. If we do it before the election, its political suicide as a party, so we should not shut down the government." When asked about whether Trump has made it harder to avoid a government shutdown, Garcia said it depends on Johnson. He said, "All of these dynamics are between him and the speaker. The speaker has to speak his own script."