House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on Tuesday morning announced that negotiators have reached an agreement on the remaining spending bills needed to fund the federal government through September and avoid a shutdown.

What You Need To Know

  • Congressional leaders on Tuesday announced they reached an agreement on the remaining spending bills needed to fund the federal government through September and avoid a shutdown

  • Lawmakers had previously reached an agreement on five of the six spending bills needed to avoid a shutdown on Friday night, but they clashed over funding for the Department of Homeland Security

  • The package of bills, also known as a "minibus," includes funding for not just Homeland Security, but the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Defense, State and Treasury, as well as the legislative branch

  • Timing will be tight to avert a shutdown, with lawmakers scrambling to draft legislative text ahead of Friday's deadline

Lawmakers had previously reached an agreement on five of the six spending bills needed to avoid a shutdown on Friday night, but they clashed over funding for the Department of Homeland Security. 

"An agreement has been reached for DHS appropriations, which will allow completion of the FY24 appropriations process," Johnson said in a statement, adding that the bill will be drafted "as soon as possible."

"Senate and House leaders and the White House have reached an agreement to finish the final set of full year appropriations bills," Schumer wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. "The Senate and House Appropriations Committees are in the process of finalizing text and reports for Congress to closely review and consider ASAP."

The package of bills, also known as a "minibus," includes funding for not just Homeland Security, but the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Defense, State and Treasury, as well as the legislative branch. President Joe Biden pledged to sign it "immediately" once it passes Congress and reaches his desk.

"We have come to an agreement with Congressional leaders on a path forward for the remaining full-year funding bills," he said in a statement. "The House and Senate are now working to finalize a package that can quickly be brought to the floor, and I will sign it immediately."

But timing will be tight to avert a shutdown, with lawmakers scrambling to draft legislative text ahead of the deadline. House Republican leadership has pledged that it will give members 72 hours to review the legislation, which could make for a close call depending on when the bill is released. Johnson might also need to bring the bill up under the suspension of the House rules, which allows for expedited review of a bill, but would need two-third of the chamber to support it in order for it to pass.

"In the next few days, upon completion of the drafting process, Congress will review and consider the appropriations package in order to fund the government and meet the needs of hardworking American taxpayers," Jeffries said in a statement.

It could also face some Republican opposition. Some members of the House GOP expressed concern about the way the minibus was negotiated.

"We are back in Ryan-Boehner swamp mode where the omnibus is written behind closed doors," Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie wrote on X, referring to the last two Republican House speakers, Paul Ryan and John Boehner. "Members are told to take it or leave it, and although Republicans control the House, more Democrats vote for it than Republicans because it spends more money than when [Nancy] Pelosi was in charge."

Republicans have also been opposed to the packaging together of bills, as well as the lack of inclusion of provisions like abortion restrictions and bans on diversity and inclusion programs within federal agencies.

Once enacted by the House, the Senate must then take up the bill. Schumer would need the consent of every member of the chamber to speed up consideration of the measure, and any one lawmaker could hold up the process. Typically, leadership will come to an agreement on expedited consideration in exchange the

The package being finalized is expected to provide about $886 billion for the Pentagon. The bill will also fund the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and others.

Overall, the two spending packages provide about a 3% boost for defense, while keeping nondefense spending roughly flat with the year before. That's in keeping with an agreement that former Speaker Kevin McCarthy worked out with the White House, which restricted spending for two years and suspended the debt ceiling into January 2025 so the federal government could continue paying its bills.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.