Speaker Johnson says he is working “around the clock” to come up with a solution to avoid a partial government shutdown before the Friday deadline. During a meeting at the White House on Tuesday, congressional leaders pressed the speaker to put a short-term deal on the floor — whatever the political cost to Mr. Johnson. 

“We have been working in good faith around the clock … over the last several days,” Mr. Johnson told reporters after emerging from the White House meeting. “We’re very optimistic.”

He also made clear to other congressional leaders in the room — including Senators Schumer and McConnell and Congressman Hakeem Jeffries — that he needs to see action on the border before considering the president’s national security aid bill, which also includes money for Ukraine, Israel, and Free China. 

“Let me say this: When I showed up today, my purpose was to express what I believe is the obvious truth and that is that we must take care of America’s needs first,” the speaker said. “When you talk about America’s needs, you have to talk first about our open border.”

Messrs. Schumer and Jeffries emerged from the White House while the speaker was still meeting one-on-one with the president. Mr. Schumer said the conversations were “intense” but productive. 

“We are making good progress. The speaker said unequivocally that he wants to avoid a government shutdown,” Mr. Schumer said. He also said that “you need” a short-term spending deal, known as a continuing resolution, in order to keep the government open. 

“We can’t have this shutdown because it hurts so many people in so many different ways, even for a short period of time,” Mr. Schumer said. “He said he wants to avoid a government shutdown.”

Mr. Johnson had previously planned to pass each of the 12 government appropriations bills separately, but so far his office has failed to release the text of any of the remaining five spending bills that are needed to fully fund the government.

In January, Congress passed what has been called a “laddered continuing resolution,” which funded some government programs through March 1 and others through March 8. The March 1 deadline is set for four of the 12 appropriations bills, including the energy and water bill, the transportation and housing bill, the agriculture bill, and the military construction and veterans’ affairs bill. 

A fierce critic of Mr. Johnson and his spending agreements, Congressman Chip Roy, says that he has seen no progress made toward the goals that the GOP laid out when it ran to retake the House in 2022. He said on X that there is “NO PLAN TO FIGHT.”

Mr. Roy and his conservative colleagues have been pushing the speaker to include a number of policy changes known as “policy riders” — not just spending cuts — in the government funding deal. Some of those policies include defunding the World Health Organization, reducing the homeland security secretary’s salary to $0, and defunding all diversity, equity, and inclusion offices.

“It is notable that the current ‘deal’ will fall way short of 218 Republicans, and like every other significant bill passed in recent months, will likely pass with MORE Democrat votes than GOP, and very well might end up with less than even a majority of GOP supporting,” Mr. Roy says. 

When the House voted on continuing resolutions in September, November, and January, there were more Democrats voting in favor of the measures than Republicans. 

“Beyond capitulation on spending and most policies in the bills, there’s no mention of a plan to: secure the border, truly reform FISA (i.e., clarity on warrants/other protections in a future bill), hold line on Ukraine either entirely or at minimum until the border is secure,” he continues. 

“Bottom line: Republicans are putting out the same tired excuses that we’ve been telling our voters for decades,” Mr. Roy says. “We can’t let the swamp dictate the terms. If we want to achieve something different, we have to do something different.”

Some of Mr. Roy’s fellow hardline House Freedom Caucus members have explicitly said that they are willing to let the government shut down if certain goals are not met. During an appearance on Fox News, the chairman of the Freedom Caucus, Congressman Bob Good, said “the more this government does, the worse it is for the American people.”

“We shouldn’t be joining with Democrats to show we can govern,” he added. When asked if that meant instigating a shutdown, Mr. Good said, “It’s not ideal, but it’s not the worst thing.”