Trump’s potential return splits House Republicans on spending fights

• "There is a strong desire by some on the right to have a [stopgap resolution] until after Trump comes back," one House Republican told Axios.
• The other view is to "clear the decks" of spending battles by giving lawmakers the option to pass a longer-term stopgap in the post-election, lame duck session "so that Trump can focus on his agenda the first 100 days," the lawmaker said.

The House left early for summer recess — not returning until Sept. 9 — after passing just a handful of its spending bills.

• Government funding runs through the end of September.
• Culture war language has derailed a path to passage on the party-line pieces of legislation.

The big picture: GOP lawmakers are bullish on former President Trump's chances of winning back the White House, as well as on their own prospects for growing their razor-thin majority.

• Members are also increasingly bullish on Speaker Mike Johnson, who is in a strong spot to keep his job if the GOP does well in November.

• "We're talking about all the options on the table have made decisions on it," Johnson said, adding that he still holds out hope both chambers can finish the regular appropriations process.

The bottom line: House Republicans were only able to pass four of the 12 individual spending bills before the August recess — and none have been signed into law — leaving a continuing resolution as the inevitable option to prevent an Oct. 1 funding lapse.