Congressional Leaders Unveil Stopgap Bill to Head Off Shutdown

Congressional leaders unveiled stopgap legislation on Sunday to avert a partial government shutdown, teeing up a race to pass the bipartisan spending deal into law before a deadline at the end of the week.

The bill, which came out of a spending deal negotiated by Speaker Mike Johnson and Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, would temporarily extend funding for some federal agencies until March 1 and for others through March 8. It would keep the government funded at its current spending levels, without any policy changes or conditions.

Facing opposition from hard-line House Republicans and a razor-thin G.O.P. majority, Mr. Johnson will most likely need to rely on the same coalition — made up of Democrats and mainstream Republicans — to pass the bill that both he and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy have relied on to keep the government funded.

In a sign that Democrats were preparing to muster the bulk of the votes to pass the bill, Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the minority leader, signaled his backing of the bill on Sunday night. He wrote to his caucus that he was “in strong support of the effort to keep the appropriations process moving forward and avoid a disruptive partial government shutdown.”