Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer suggested Tuesday that the onus is on House Republicans to pass a short-term spending agreement before the Senate acts.

“Our first job is to get the House to pass something,” Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters at his weekly news conference. “We’ll see if they can. But we need a bipartisan bill in each body.”

While the Senate is further along in its appropriations process to fund the government, neither chamber will have passed all 12 spending bills ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline, when government funding is set to run dry. That means the path forward is a short-term patch to keep government agencies running while both chambers work to pass their own bills before coming together on a deal for the rest fiscal year 2024. 

The Senate has advanced all of its appropriations measures out of committee, but Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., slowed the chamber’s progress late last week when he opposed allowing amendment votes on a three-bill package known as a “minibus,” arguing that each bill should proceed individually through regular order.

Senate Democrats initiated a procedural maneuver Monday to bypass Johnson’s blockade, teeing up a procedural vote for Wednesday. But even if that vote is successful, two-thirds of senators present must ultimately vote yes on a separate tally to move toward considering amendments.

The House, meanwhile, has been consumed by chaos since the chamber returned to Washington last week as Republicans fight among themselves over policy, forcing leadership to pull planned votes as Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., dares his critics to force a vote to oust him from leadership.

“Once again, the House is in meltdown mode because Speaker McCarthy refuses to reach out and do what is available to him: find a bipartisan path to keep the government open and to fund the government through the rest of this year,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said.“We have shown that you can get bipartisan agreement on appropriations bills,” added Murphy, who chairs the panel’s subcommittee on homeland security. “But Speaker McCarthy cares more about preserving his own power.”

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray of Washington panned House Republicans’ proposal to temporarily fund the government as unserious. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., talks to reporters following the closed-door "AI Insight Forum" outside the Kennedy Caucus Room in the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Sept. 13, 2023, in Washington, D.C. Lawmakers are seeking input from business leaders in the artificial intelligence sector, and some of their most ardent opponents, for writing legislation governing the rapidly evolving technology.The House GOP plan, a compromise between the hardline House Freedom Caucus and the Main Street Caucus, would reduce non-defense spending by 8%. It doesn’t include the White House’s supplemental request for aid to Ukraine or domestic disaster relief, and a majority of House Republicans have yet to coalesce around the legislation. 

“I hope it is clear what a gut punch it would be to working families everywhere in this country,” Murray said, referring to House Republicans’ plan. “Now, in contrast, I’m working hard here in the Senate to make sure we do put together a bipartisan [continuing resolution] that will deliver on the necessary funding for disaster relief, supporting Ukraine, paying our wildland firefighters, and more. Because we need to show the American people that Congress can come together and help people and solve problems.”

At a separate news conference, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky conceded he’s no fan of government shutdowns.

“I’ve seen a few of them over the years,” he said. “They never have produced a policy change, and they’ve always been a loser for Republicans politically.”

Asked about the possibility of a government shutdown, McConnell acknowledged he was unsure of what would happen.

“I can’t predict exactly how this ends,” he said. “We’ll see what the House does and act accordingly.”