Among the bills being negotiated is a minibus sent over by the Senate, comprising three key bills: Agriculture, Legislative Branch, and Military/Veterans Affairs. Rep. Cole noted that before the shutdown, appropriators in both the House and Senate were actively negotiating these three bills.
“We’re pretty close,” he said. “We could literally wrap them up in about 48 hours.” He added that the nine remaining bills could be finalized by the end of December. “I have no doubt, if we were focused on our 12 bills, we would get to an agreement pretty quickly,” Cole emphasized. “And we all know how to do it. We all have a track record of doing it.”
The House is currently on a 48-hour notice to return to Washington and resume work—whether that means voting on a new continuing resolution (CR), adjusting the current one, or moving forward with regular business and appropriations discussions. House Republicans have confirmed that discussions about the timing of a new CR are ongoing, though no definitive timeline has been agreed upon yet.
Cole expressed that he could see the House voting on a new spending deal either by the end of December or into January. With a possible deadline looming in December, he’s already anticipating some frustration from GOP members who dislike feeling “jammed” right before the holidays—and appropriators agree.
“We all agree, now, we want deadlines that are closer, because around Congress, deadlines are like alarm clocks,” Cole quipped. “People wake up about the time they’re supposed to finish, and they extend it further.”
The top GOP appropriator’s remarks echo those of the 12 cardinals—the chairmen of the appropriations subcommittees—who all shared with the Washington Examiner their frustration not only with the shutdown but also with having to rely on a CR in the first place.
“It’s damaging to Congress in general,” Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) said regarding the possibility of more CRs due to the shutdown. “We’re not doing our job. And we need to start doing it.”
### Shutdown Derailed by Democratic Leaders, Not Democratic Appropriators, Cole Says
As the government shutdown surpassed three weeks, it became the second-longest shutdown in U.S. history and the longest-ever full shutdown, remaining just 12 days shy of the 35-day record set during the first Trump administration.
Cole and Simpson noted that the appropriations process was further along than it had been in years, with all 12 bills having passed out of their respective committees. However, everything fell apart when the fiscal year ended on September 30, and the Senate was unable to pass the House-approved CR that would extend funding through November 21.
The House has been out of session since September 19, with GOP leaders and Cole arguing that they cannot “negotiate against yourself” and need to wait until the Senate completes its work.
“We’ve offered them: Let’s just keep the government open, just like it is now. We’re not asking anything from you. We’re not asking you to give anything up. Keep it open,” Cole said. “We’ll negotiate on the other issues you’re concerned about with you—hopefully we can come to a common solution—but don’t punish the American people while we work out our disagreements. It’s just unconscionable.”
Negotiations between the parties appear to be at a standstill. Democrats insist they need a vote on a permanent extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits and a rollback of Medicaid cuts made in President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act this summer.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said on Wednesday that Republicans need to “come to the table” to negotiate a “bipartisan spending agreement” before they can discuss the possibility of another continuing resolution. Over the last four weeks, he has repeatedly blamed Republicans for failing to negotiate, arguing that Democratic appropriators are “ready, willing, and able” to move forward on spending bills once their healthcare concerns are addressed.
However, Republicans, including Cole, have consistently maintained that Democrats’ healthcare requests are policy-related and do not belong in discussions about appropriations.
Because of the “unrelated set of demands dumped at the last minute,” Cole said, “every single day” of the shutdown is a “wasted day.” Notably, he does not blame his Democratic appropriator counterparts but rather Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), with him and other congressional Republicans labeling this the “Schumer Shutdown.”
“The Democrats, literally my counterparts, can’t negotiate with me while their leadership is shutting down the government, because they would be undermining their own leadership,” Cole explained. “And I respect that. I understand that they got to work with their leaders, but these are ridiculous demands, and they are things that have nothing to do with the appropriations process or committee.”
“We’re dealing with an irrational and unreasonable negotiation party, not at the appropriations level, where I think my counterparts are very rational and reasonable, but at the leadership level,” he added. “I can tell you, a lot of their members are not comfortable with where they’re at. A lot of their members think this is not something we should be doing.”
### Top Appropriators Lean on Bipartisanship for Success
Cole’s praise of his Democratic colleagues highlights that the appropriations process requires a different level of bipartisan cooperation—despite the rise of hyperpartisanship—than almost any other committee on Capitol Hill.
The top four appropriators—Cole, Senator Susan Collins, House ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-MA), and Senate ranking member Patty Murray (D-WA)—have to diligently work together to navigate the difficult task of passing 12 appropriations bills through both chambers of Congress.
Many of these bills, including one to fund the Labor and Health and Human Services departments, are often controversial and require significant negotiation across the aisle.
The two top House appropriators, Cole and DeLauro, have repeatedly expressed confidence in the process and in their counterparts’ ability to conduct “good faith” negotiations. Despite their policy differences, Cole and DeLauro share a long history of collaboration in the House, earning them the reputation as the “odd couple.”
“Good legislation means recognizing you don’t have to agree on everything, and that the other people have a point of view and that their motivation is good, so we’re pretty good at that on the appropriations,” Cole said.
### Top House GOP Appropriator Concedes Congress Will Need a New Spending Deal
Cole insists that appropriators, both Democrats and Republicans, are eager to do their jobs and get back to work.
“They do not want a yearlong continuing resolution,” Cole said of his appropriators. “I can assure you, my Democratic colleagues feel that way, whether we agree or disagree on issues—we want to do our work. And we all know how to compromise with one another. We all know it’s going to take a bipartisan coalition to pass these appropriations bills.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to DeLauro for comment.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house/3860789/tom-cole-house-appropriator-shutdown-breakthrough/