US again faces possibility of government shutdown over spending

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Leaders of the House and Senate announced a broad agreement on spending levels for 2024 this week, but much work remains to be done if lawmakers plan to avoid shutting down large portions of the federal government between now and early February.

A major focus of that work will entail finding a way to satisfy a small hard-right element of the Republican-led House, which has demanded significant cuts in federal spending that are not reflected in the $1.66 trillion budget agreement struck by House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer over the weekend.