House Hard-Liners Signal Openness to CR to Avoid Shutdown

In a departure from their usual stance, hard-line conservative lawmakers in the House are signaling their willingness to support a continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded and avert a shutdown later this month.

House Freedom Caucus members have been reliable opponents of stopgap spending measures for years, but now many members — encouraged by the Department of Government Efficiency's across-the-board spending cuts — are indicating they're open to supporting Speaker Mike Johnson's plan to pass a clean continuing resolution that funds the government until the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.

President Donald Trump endorsed the CR last week.

"My bottom line is: It's a step forward. Again, based on the word that we're being given from the White House that they will continue to do the work, that the president supports it and wants it, I'm comfortable," Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who is a member of the Freedom Caucus, told The Hill.

The Trump administration is reportedly working to win over the usual conservative critics, with many hard-liners slated to meet with the president at the White House on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the continuing resolution and rapidly approaching shutdown deadline.

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., who plans to attend Wednesday's White House meeting, told The Hill he would support a clean continuing resolution but said he wanted to wait and see what policy and funding measures are ultimately attached.

"Until I see something in writing, I'm not gonna commit," Burchett said.

On Tuesday, Johnson told The Hill that he's hopeful the text for the continuing resolution will be finalized by Friday, which would give the House several days to consider the measure ahead of the Friday deadline.

While leaders are still determining key details of the measure, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told reporters on Tuesday that "not many" changes will be made.

Those details will be crucial to unlocking the support of many GOP hard-liners.

In a Tuesday letter to Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., a group of conservatives in the House and Senate, led by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris, R-Md., said they were prepared to support a stopgap bill as long as it does not include Democrat requests that could hinder DOGE's work.

"We stand ready to work with you to ensure the government remains open in a way that preserves President Trump's options to root out wasteful government spending and fully continues DOGE's important work," the letter read. "However, we will not support a government funding package that would be weaponized against President Trump at the very moment he is seeking to make good on the promises he made to the American people."

Meanwhile, some hard-line conservatives are making it clear that they have no intention of supporting a clean continuing resolution, including Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who often goes against his party when it comes to fiscal matters.

"I'll vote against a clean CR that funds everything in 2025 at 2024 levels," Massie posted on X. He listed four reasons, including, "We should not fund the waste, fraud, and abuse that Doge has found."

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