WASHINGTON (Reuters) – With fewer than 10 hours remaining before U.S. government agencies run out of money, U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Steny Hoyer set a 5 p.m. ET (2200 GMT) deadline for deciding how to avert shutting down agency operations.
Speaking to reporters in the Capitol, Hoyer said he was recessing the House “and then I’m going to make a decision at 5 o’clock.”
The options, the Democratic leader said, were “hopefully” having a deal on a coronavirus aid bill that would be attached to a $1.4 trillion government funding bill, passing a third stopgap funding bill or keeping the House in a recess longer.
Hoyer said he was “adamantly opposed” to a fourth option, allowing government shutdowns to begin at midnight.
He said no duration for a stopgap funding bill has been determined yet. Earlier this week he publicly mulled the possibility of one extending into early next week.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by David Gregorio)
