Collins crosses the Capitol to woo House Republicans on shutdown strategy

GOP Sen. Susan Collins received a warm welcome across the Capitol Wednesday at the House Republican Study Committee’s weekly lunch, where the moderate from Maine talked with staunch conservatives about tough realities for funding the government ahead of the March 14 shutdown deadline.

The meeting at which the Senate Appropriations Committee chair was a special guest served partly as a rally for bicameral cooperation in a hard-fought Republican trifecta — and partly as a wake up call for what will actually be achievable over the next nine days.

“I really enjoyed the opportunity to talk with them and give an update from the Senate perspective on where we are on the negotiations on the CR and our common goal for preventing a government shutdown,” Collins told a small group of reporters of her meeting with the House Republicans with whom she rarely interfaces directly.

While Republicans hold majorities in both chambers, they still face an uphill battle in passing a continuing resolution, or CR, to fund federal operations through September. The party has extremely narrow margins in the House, and at least seven Democrats in the Senate will be needed to clear anything. Many fiscal hawks are also balking at having to vote for a funding bill that holds spending at current levels and doesn’t incorporate new conservative policy priorities.

Collins acknowledged concerns from House Republicans and answered multiple questions from attendees. But the senator has also been working to salvage stalled negotiations on a longer-term funding deal, in which case a much shorter stopgap spending measure could come into play to buy leaders more time.

Multiple House Republicans members exiting the meeting said the funding patch through September was the dominant path discussed at the closed-door meeting, with Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), who chairs a House appropriations subcommittee, mentioned that a shorter term funding patch came up but “at this point, it doesn’t look promising we can get more than that.”

Speaker Mike Johnson also attended the meeting, appearing alongside Collins to make a hard pitch for Republicans in both chambers to support that government funding strategy.

“The reality there is that they have to have Democrats. But I hope that all members of the Senate will look at this very soberly,” Johnson said in a brief interview, referring to his colleagues across the Capitol. “A government shutdown doesn't serve anyone. And regardless of who's to blame for this — we’ve got to make sure the government is funded.”

Republican Study Committee Chair August Pfluger of Texas, who invited Collins to speak to the House’s largest caucus, said he wanted rank-and-file members to have more insight into the Senate’s process and key tension points.

“It's very helpful for us to understand the realities over there. That doesn't mean that we don't push for as much savings as we can garner, but then it's an expectation management drill,” Pfluger told a small group of reporters. “She has a tremendous amount of experience in the Senate. She knows these pressure points.”