GOP unveils plan to avert government shutdown, includes $30M security hike after Charlie Kirk killing
House Republicans have released a plan to avert a government shutdown at the end of this month, and it includes roughly $30 million in additional security funding for lawmakers.It comes days after Charlie Kirk's assassination last week during a college campus speaking event in Utah.The measure is mostly a straightforward extension of current government funding levels, called a continuing resolution, or CR, in order to give House and Senate negotiators more time to reach a deal. It would extend through Nov. 21.Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has said he wants to hold a House-wide vote on the measure Friday, after which it will be taken up by the Senate.SECRET SERVICE UNDER PRESSURE: WHAT KIRKS ASSASSINATION MEANS FOR TRUMPS SECURITYPresident Donald Trump must sign the measure into law by Oct. 1, the beginning of fiscal year 2026, to avert a government shutdown.House Administration Committee Chair Bryan Steil, R-Wis., earlier briefed lawmakers on member security options and plans for the funding increase during the House GOP's weekly closed-door conference meeting.Two sources told Fox News Digital earlier on Tuesday that Steil proposed adding $30 million to a mutual aid fund between Capitol Police and local law enforcement for the duration of the CR, which House leadership sources confirmed would be included in the bill."The proposed $30 million plus-up would be into the mutual aid bucket, one of the many programs available. The mutual aid bucket is a program where U.S. Capitol Police reimburses local law enforcement to provide security, traditionally, in a member's district," Steil said when asked by reporters after the meeting.The legislation would also honor the Trump administration's request for an additional $58 million in security funding for the judicial and executive branches.Another $1 billion would be included in Washington, D.C.'s annual budget, which is allotted by the federal government.Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., said he anticipated that the lawmaker security funding boost in the CR would also make way for discussions for more long-term lawmaker security enhancements, likely in the annual appropriations process for fiscal 2026 funding."What you're trying to do, put in perspective, is if you had 24/7 for every member, all 435, it's billions of dollars," Fitzgerald told Fox News Digital. "So we're trying to come up with something that makes sense and that members are comfortable with."He continued, referencing the recent assassinations of a Minnesota state Democratic lawmaker and Kirk, "It's become something that we've already been, since Minnesota, focused on. And now with Charlie Kirk, it's just gone off the charts trying to figure out what you can do."And while the desire for added security is palpable among Democratic lawmakers as well, House and Senate Democrats' frustration at being sidelined in government funding discussions has their leaders threatening to oppose the CR en masse.With a narrow House GOP majority of just two seats, Johnson can afford little dissent among his own conference.CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION ROCKS CAPITOL HILL, HEIGHTENS LAWMAKERS' SECURITY FEARSOne House Republican told Fox News Digital that Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., raised concerns in the Tuesday morning meeting about current Capitol security being weak.Burchett, who told Fox News Digital he is still undecided on the bill, confirmed he believed member security measures are inadequate."I've got some real problems there," he said, adding of the proposed security increases, "It's not gonna help with that. That's personnel. That's leadership."Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, and Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., also all publicly expressed concerns about voting for a CR.But Johnson argued in a Tuesday press conference that the onus would be on Democrats if they voted against the GOP-led CR."Unfortunately, there are some Democrats who are openly pining for a government shutdown in spite of this obvious and necessary step," he said. "Some of them apparently believe that shutting down the government will be some sort of life raft for them so they can regain the support of the American people. I just think that is a fool's gambit."He also confirmed that Kirk's assassination gave way to renewed discussions about lawmaker security."The tragedy has also initiated a number of uncomfortable but necessary conversations about important issues, like the safety and security of our members and the responsibility of public servants, and the need for political leaders to turn down the temperature and the violent rhetoric in America," Johnson said.
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