The government will shut down next Saturday morning unless Congress can rally around a funding measure by the end of the week, setting up the first big legislative spending fight of President Trump’s second term.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is set to move forward with a stopgap measure, also known as a continuing resolution (CR), that will run through the end of fiscal 2025 on Sept. 30.

It’s unclear whether the legislation will have the votes to get through both chambers.

Here are the three key groups to watch as the House and Senate prepare to tackle the issue.

Democrats

Johnson may need Democrats to back the measure in the House given the likelihood that some conservative Republicans will vote against it.

The Speaker has a tiny majority and can only afford to lose one GOP vote if all Democrats oppose it, assuming full attendance. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who frequently bucks the party, said last week that he would “vote against a clean CR that funds everything in 2025 at 2024 levels” for a host of reasons.

Johnson expressed confidence the measure will pass with GOP votes.

“I believe we’ll pass it along party lines,” Johnson told reporters Thursday morning, “but I think every Democrat should vote for the CR."

Because the bill extends existing funding, the legislation will essentially fund the government at the levels set under former President Biden.

But Democrats angered with the efforts by Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) say they will vote against the measure anyway.

They have specifically pushed for the bill to include language mandating that the administration spend what is appropriated in the upcoming funding bill, which would force the administration to not make DOGE cuts that are not in line with the CR.

That idea was flatly rejected by Republicans, with........

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