Republicans talking with Democrats to gauge where votes may lie to pass spending bill, avoid shutdown

House Republican and Democratic leadership are working to see how many votes each side can provide to adopt a two-step interim spending bill offered by Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) that would avoid a government shutdown.

If the House can’t approve the rule, it can not even begin debate, let alone pass, the bill itself.

It is also unclear if a bipartisan cocktail of Republicans and Democrats could come together to bypass the "rule" process and put the bill on the floor as a "suspension."