By JM Rieger and Niels Lesniewski

With fewer than 10 legislative days remaining before a government shutdown, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters Wednesday he has begun negotiations with the House on a short-term continuing resolution that would stretch until later in the year. “We’re in discussion with the House about how to go forward on that,” McConnell said. “It is my hope that we will end up having a continuing resolution into later this year, which will give time for us to engage with the administration in determining how much we’re going to spend and where we’re going to spend it.”