Negotiations to avoid a federal government shutdown in two weeks have not been going well. Lawmakers have yet to agree on spending top-line numbers even though the current budget year began in October. Plus, Democrats are seeking assurances that would ensure President Donald Trump's administration follows Congress' directions on how the money would be spent. The disagreements and the new political dynamic in Washington raises questions about whether lawmakers will avoid a shutdown this time. As a substitute, House Speaker Mike Johnson and President Donald Trump are now pursuing a stopgap measure that would generally fund agencies and programs at the 2024 spending levels through September 30.

Republican Mike Johnson has barely won reelection to the House speakership on dramatic first-round voting. He pushed past GOP holdout and got a boost from President-elect Donald Trump. Upon taking the gavel, Johnson vowed to slash the size and scope of the federal government. It all brought an ominous start to the new Congress. Johnson's weak grip on the gavel threatens not only his own survival as speaker but Trump's ambitious agenda. Tax cuts and mass deportations are all at stake as Republicans sweep to power in Washington. A flop by Johnson could have thrown Monday's congressional certification of Trump's 2024 election victory into turmoil without a House speaker.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has teed up a vote this week on a bill that would keep the federal government funded for six more months. But the measure would also require Americans to provide proof of citizenship when they register to vote. Congress needs to approve a stop-gap spending bill before the end of September to avoid a partial government shutdown just a few weeks before voters go the polls. Johnson's decision to combine the proof of citizenship mandate with government funding complicates prospects for getting that task done. The bill isn't expected to go anywhere in the Democratic-controlled Senate, if it even makes it that far.

Republican Kevin McCarthy wrapped his first full week as House speaker in the most outwardly orderly way. There was hardly a hint of the chaotic, rebellious fight it took for the Republicans to arrive here, having barely installed him as the leader with the gavel. The House Republicans marched through the early days of the session passing bills, choosing committee chairman, even requesting its first documents for investigations of President Joe Biden and his family. But the semblance of House GOP unity is all but certain to be temporary as Congress faces more difficult questions ahead around spending cuts and the federal debt limit.

The federal government is on track to max out on its $31.4 trillion borrowing authority as soon as this month. That starts the clock on an expected standoff between President Joe Biden and the new House Republican majority. Both political parties' ability to navigate a divided Washington will be tested, with the fragile global economy at stake. Once the cap is hit the Treasury Department will be unable to issue new debt without congressional action. The government could be at risk of defaulting, possibly in midsummer, unless lawmakers and the Democratic president agree to lift the limit on the U.S. government's ability to borrow.

The House Ethics Committee has been asked to investigate Rep. George Santos. The newly-elected Republican from New York has admitted to lying about his job experience, college education and even family heritage. Two Democrats on Tuesday requested the probe saying Santos has "failed to uphold the integrity expected" of lawmakers. In a letter to the Ethics Committee, Democratic Representatives Ritchie Torres and Dan Goldman said Santos also failed to file accurate financial disclosure reports as required by law. Some Democratic leaders said Santos should be expelled from the House. Republican leaders have said they will handle the situation internally. Santos' election helped give Republicans the House majority.

Electing the House speaker may have been the easy part. Now House Republicans will try to govern. Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces his first test late Monday as the Republicans try to approve their rules package governing House operations. It's typically a routine step on Day One that is now stretching into the second week of the new majority. After that, the Republicans will try to pass their first bill — legislation to cut funding that was intended to bolster the Internal Revenue Service. But it has ran into a snag because the budget office says it would add $114 billion to the federal deficit.

Republican Kevin McCarthy has been elected House speaker on a historic post-midnight 15th ballot, overcoming holdouts from his own ranks and floor tensions boiling over after a chaotic week that tested the new GOP majority's ability to govern. After four days of grueling ballots, McCarthy flipped more than a dozen conservative holdouts to supporters, leaving him just a few shy of seizing the gavel for the new Congress. The last few Republican holdouts voted present, dropping the tally McCarthy needed to win.

The House stalemate over choosing a new speaker is continuing for a long, excruciating third day of voting with no end in sight. Party leader Kevin McCarthy is determined to win over enough fellow Republicans, but he failed again in ballot after ballot on Thursday. The standoff is between McCarthy and 20 conservative colleagues who are withholding the support the California Republican needs. So far, nine roll call votes have failed to elect a speaker. The impasse has left the House unable to fully form and govern. McCarthy's conservative detractors appear intent on waiting him out, as long as it takes.