'Dark and under cover': Congress fails to finalize funding bill just days from the deadline

With just days to avert a government shutdown, Congress has not yet finalized its funding bill, raising concerns for several House Republicans.

Lawmakers have begun to feel the pressure ahead of the looming funding deadline of Friday. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was expected to put forward the funding bill on Sunday but failed to do so at the last minute, as leadership continues to negotiate the contents of the bill.

'If Congress refuses to hold ourselves accountable, the American people rightfully can't trust us to hold bad actors in the bureaucratic state accountable.'

As a result, several Republican lawmakers have expressed skepticism ahead of the spending fight, citing fiscal concerns and noting the lack of transparency.

"We're talking about funding our government, and nobody has even seen the bill text," Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee told Blaze News. "That's how this place likes to operate ... in the dark and under cover. I'm a no unless someone proves me otherwise."

"The only way to beat the swamp is to reject legislating by crisis with this lie of an unlimited checkbook," Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas told Blaze News. "Yet here we are."

The pushback from conservatives in the House echoes arguments made during the previous spending fight in September.

"Congress is voting on legislation this week that will fund the entire federal government," Republican Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona said in a Monday post on X. "The text of the legislation has still not been released to the public. Does this process make you more or less confident in Congress?"

Due to the increasingly narrow Republican majority in the House, Johnson will have to obtain bipartisan support to pass a continuing resolution, inevitably including policy compromises. While Johnson will likely have to negotiate with all ideological factions in the House, hard-line conservatives are expected to hold out.

"The House has repeatedly ignored the law requiring passage of twelve individual appropriations bills by the end of June," Republican Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona told Blaze News. "Instead, my colleagues are taking the easy way out — ignoring the demands of their constituencies — time and time again extending bloated spending levels and terrible policies."

"If Congress refuses to hold ourselves accountable, the American people rightfully can't trust us to hold bad actors in the bureaucratic state accountable."

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