<u+201c>the word of the day at least is that it would be a high preference of the leadership to keep the [continuing resolution] as clean as possible,<u+201d> said sen. pat roberts (r-kansas). | getty republicans plan to pass a short-term spending bill to buy time until donald trump takes office. by ben weyl , burgess everett and john bresnahan 11/10/16 01:08 pm est house and senate gop leaders plan to move lame duck legislation that funds the government at current levels into early next year, part of a strategy to split up any showdowns over a government shutdown and a debt ceiling hike. senior senate republican aides said lawmakers would discuss the matter next week to sign off on the plan, but there were doubts emerging about crafting a big spending deal while president barack obama is in charge. letting president-elect donald trump and a republican congress handle government funding is easier politically and gives the gop more control over final budget outcomes. story continued below <u+201c>the word of the day at least is that it would be a high preference of the leadership to keep the [continuing resolution] as clean as possible,<u+201d> said sen. pat roberts (r-kansas), adding that a larger agreement to fund the government through the rest of the fiscal year would be too messy to pass before a dec. 9 deadline. one republican source said leadership needed to <u+201c>see how much appetite there is from members<u+201d> over whether to pursue a cr or an omnibus spending bill. <u+201c>we<u+2019>ll probably try to do cr until march or april, a clean one,<u+201d> said a senior house republican, speaking on the condition of anonymity. <u+201c>we can<u+2019>t pass anything longer, and that gives trump time to set up his administration.<u+201d> delaying final spending levels any later would probably not fly for defense hawks, who are eager to give the pentagon a budget boost. stiff spending caps for defense and domestic spending under the 2011 budget control act are also set to return next year, which will weigh on lawmakers and a trump white house. many on the right are already pushing for an appropriations punt. <u+201c>it would be inappropriate to negotiate a lame-duck spending deal with president obama and [senate minority leader] harry reid, which would further jeopardize the nation<u+2019>s fiscal health,<u+201d> rep. bill flores (r-texas), chairman of the conservative republican study committee, said in a statement. jennifer hing, a spokeswoman for house appropriations chairman hal rogers (r-ky.), said discussions on how to proceed in the lame duck are ongoing. republican leaders are also eager to de-link the need to increase the debt ceiling from funding the government. privately, house republicans say that with trump in control of the treasury department next year, they will not have to worry about government funding and debt ceiling deadlines colliding, as obama repeatedly faced. some in the gop believe the obama administration manipulated the precise debt limit deadline for maximum political leverage. the trump administration can use "extraordinary measures," as the obama administration did, to extend the debt-ceiling deadline for months, possibly until the fall. that would give trump and gop congressional leaders time to work out a spending deal without a debt crisis hanging over their heads. congress voted in the fall of 2015 to "suspend" the debt ceiling - currently at about $20 trillion - until march 2017. "it will be trump's treasury now, we won't have to worry about that," said a house gop aide close to the issue. "we can control that." the politics of a debt-ceiling increase are tough for any president and party in power on capitol hill. that's why it is likely that there will be only one such vote during the next congress, and republicans will try to set the new ceiling so high that it will allow trump to implement his domestic agenda. and as distasteful as a debt ceiling increase is, next year<u+2019>s lift might be less dramatic than recent clashes. previously, republicans used the occasion to try to extract policy concessions from obama. now, they<u+2019>re likely to want to move past it as fast as possible. by michael grunwald by bill scher by thomas wright by joshua zeitz
gop leaders look to dodge spending, debt ceiling clash - politico
ben weyl burgess everett john bresnahan michael grunwald