House GOP reverses course, pushes clean funding patch

House Republicans are now pushing ahead on a clean 45-day stopgap spending bill that they expect to vote on later Saturday, a major turnabout after weeks of vowing not to pursue such an approach.

The House GOP had considered taking three separate votes on Saturday as the clock ticks toward a government shutdown and they continue to scramble for the votes within their own party to support any funding agreement.

But minutes after hearing from Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) at a private meeting, they abandoned those plans and decided to push toward a vote on a spending patch without any conservative border policy — a priority that many on the right have insisted on — or aid for Ukraine.

That measure is now expected to come up later Saturday; it will require two-thirds support of the House to pass, meaning that significant Democratic support would be required.

The GOP briefly weighed votes on extending the authorization of the Federal Aviation Administration — which expires at midnight Sunday along with government funding — as well as an extension of the National Flood Insurance Program and legislation that would ensure military pay isn’t disrupted by a shutdown.

The consideration of those three bills, which would essentially acknowledge the inevitability of a shutdown, was confirmed by multiple people familiar with the House Republican discussions and soon afterward abandoned.

It’s not clear whether the Senate would advance the clean stopgap bill before Sunday at midnight, when government funding expires.

Sarah Ferris contributed.