US House reconvenes with a significant to-do list and a looming shutdown

With a government shutdown looming and Ukraine desperate for Washington’s aid, the House returns to session on Wednesday to face a towering to-do list and strong objections from the Republican right flank.

Congressional leaders worked frantically to reach a deal ahead of the 1 March deadline to avert a partial government shutdown that could shutter vital services in several key departments, temporarily endangering access to federal food assistance programs and federal housing vouchers.

On Tuesday, Joe Biden summoned to the White House the the top four congressional leaders – the Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson; the Democratic Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer; the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell; and the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries – to discuss a funding deal and the president’s push for a wartime aid package that would allocate $60bn to Ukraine’s fight against Russia. It would also provide $14.1bn in security assistance for Israel and $9.2bn in humanitarian assistance for civilians in war zones.

Leaders of both parties expressed optimism that they would be able to avoid a government shutdown this week, although Democrats suggested another short-term funding bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), would be necessary to continue their work.

“The speaker said unequivocally he wants to avoid a government shutdown,” Schumer told reporters after the meeting. “We made it clear that that means not letting any of the government appropriations bills lapse, which means you need some CRs to get that done. But we’re making good progress, and we’re hopeful we can get this done really quickly.”

On the question of providing more aid to Ukraine, Schumer described the discussion as “one of the most intense