Congressional leaders avoid a shutdown with a $1.6 trillion deal on top spending, including $886 billion for defense — despite GOP demands for cuts

Congressional leaders have reached a $1.59 trillion deal on topline spending levels for the current budget year — which could help avert a partial government shutdown later this month.

The agreement largely addresses spending limits for defense and domestic programs that Congress set as part of a bill to suspend the debt limit until 2025.

But it does offer some concessions to Republicans in the House of Representatives, who viewed the spending restrictions in that agreement as insufficient.

In a letter to colleagues, House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that it will secure $16 billion in additional cuts under the previous deal, brokered by then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden, and that this will save about 30 billion dollars less than what the Senate was considering.

“This represents the most favorable budget agreement Republicans have reached in more than a decade,” Johnson wrote.

Biden said the agreement “brings us one step closer to preventing an unnecessary government shutdown and protecting important national priorities.”

“It reflects the funding levels that I negotiated with both parties and signed into law last spring.

“It rejects deep cuts to programs that hardworking families rely on, and provides a path to passing full-year funding bills that deliver results for the American people and are free from extreme policies,” Biden said in a statement.

The deal allows for a budget of $886 billion in defense spending and $704 billion in non-defense spending.

The agreement accelerates the roughly $20 billion in cuts already agreed to for the Internal Revenue Service and revokes about $6 billion in COVID relief funds that had been approved but not yet spent, Johnson's letter said.

Legislators needed agreement on overall spending levels so that appropriators could craft the bills that set line-by-line funding for the agencies.

Funding expires on January 19 for some agencies and on February 2 for others.

The agreement is separate from negotiations taking place to secure additional funding for Israel and Ukraine while curbing restrictions on asylum applications at the U.S. border.

In a joint statement, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries also expressed support for the agreement.

“It will also allow us to secure investments for hardworking American families through the legislative achievements of President Biden and Democrats in Congress,” Schumer and Jeffries said.

“Finally, we have made it clear to Chairman Mike Johnson that Democrats will not support including poison pill policy changes in any of the 12 appropriations bills before Congress.”