Congress has a spending deadline to meet as well as the impeachment inquiry.

Funding deadline approaches as impeachment effort continues

WASHINGTON — The impeachment drama is dominating Washington, but leading figures such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi still have day jobs to do.

The California Democrat faces a test over the next two weeks, toggling between the effort to impeach President Donald Trump and issues such as North American trade legislation and a massive government funding bill.

December is always a busy time in Congress as busted deadlines come due and must-pass legislation reaches the floor. But the atmosphere surrounding the impeachment process has raised questions about whether lawmakers can deliver their usual year-end bundle.

“American families deserve better than this partisan paralysis where Democrats obsess over impeachment and obstruct everything else,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Topping the agenda is legislation to avoid another government shutdown. A government-wide funding bill expires Dec. 20, leaving lawmakers little time to prevent a repeat of last winter’s shutdown fiasco. A new battle over money for Trump’s U.S-Mexico border wall remains unresolved.

Pelosi is also at the center of a long-sought deal on an updated North American trade pact. It is a top bipartisan priority but requires a delicate two-step involving the Mexican government, Democratic labor allies and the Trump administration.

Prospects are looking better on another front : The administration and Democrats have struck an informal agreement on the annual defense policy measure, with a key add-on that would deliver up to 12 weeks of parental leave to federal workers.

But it is the funding measure that looms largest. Closing out a $1.4 trillion catchall spending package before Christmas could be a long shot, though Pelosi says she is optimistic.

“I don’t think we’re headed for a shutdown. I don’t think anybody wants that. I think the president and the Republicans learned in the last shutdown that … there was no upside to it,” Pelosi said in a CNN town hall on Thursday night. “And we’re on a good path.”

House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., said Friday she’s hopeful that lawmakers could meet the Dec. 20 deadline to complete their work without resorting to a third government-wide stopgap spending bill.

“There’s an overwhelming desire to be home for the holidays,” Lowey said.

Nancy Pelosi