White House Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short tells CNN there are “too many obstacles to tackle” to be able to finalize and file a giant omnibus government spending bill Tuesday night.
Even if a deal is reached, he said, the legislative text will have to be drafted, so it couldn’t be posted until at least Wednesday.
That might push final passage to the weekend, meaning Congress would need to pass a so-called continuing resolution for a couple of days to keep the government operating into the weekend, Short said.
The government will run out of money Friday without a new budget deal.
The White House also thinks a continuing resolution might be needed because some members of the Senate who oppose the omnibus might slow-walk its passage, dragging it past the Friday deadline.
Negotiators are still wrestling with the same issues they’ve been working on for several days but, in particular, Short said, there are “some border issues outstanding.”
“But I do feel better tonight that we are getting closer on all the outstanding issues,” he said. “But there are a handful of them.”
Short’s concerns about filing a bill Tuesday night were echoed by another Republican Senate source close to the talks, who was skeptical that a bill could be completed before Wednesday.
