Senate Republicans are running a hurry-up offense ahead of Super Bowl Sunday that's putting House Speaker Mike Johnson on his heels.

Why it matters: The House is unlikely to reach an agreement on taxes and spending cuts before Johnson and President Trump meet in a New Orleans skybox on Sunday, aides and lawmakers conceded today.

• That gives Senate Republicans all weekend — and a dinner tonight at Mar-a-Lago — to make their case for a two-bill approach, while House Republicans still debate how much to cut from the federal budget.
• The latest deadline for Johnson's one-bill plan is "probably closer to Monday," he said this morning.

🚨 "The time to act is now, and Senate Republicans are ready to roll," Majority Leader John Thune said on X, backing up Senate Budget Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

• Graham released a budget resolution today to funnel hundreds of billions into border security, energy and defense.
• "I hope the House will move forward soon, but we cannot allow this moment to pass, and we cannot let President Trump's America First Agenda stall," Graham said on X.
• "This targeted bill on the border, energy, and national security is uniting," Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) posted about the plan. "We're ready to go."

Zoom in: Graham has scheduled committee hearings next week to debate and vote on the resolution, on Wednesday and Thursday.

• Graham argued his bill will provide border funds faster, saying border czar Tom Homan "is running out of the funds necessary" to keep up the Trump team's immigration crackdown.
• The Senate plan offsets the $342 billion in new spending.

Between the lines: Johnson is still claiming he's making progress.

• "It's going very well, I'm very excited about where we are and the fact that we're going to be moving this forward," he said.
• Graham's committee timeline will give Johnson and House Republicans until midweek to pass their own resolution.

The bottom line: Even if Graham's plan makes it through the Senate, there's no guarantee the House will be on board when its turn comes.

• Graham was careful not to antagonize Johnson, who can't afford to lose any GOP vote on anything these days.

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— Stef Kight and Hans Nichols

Democrats are locking arms against Johnson on government funding, vowing to use the process to try to roll back many of Trump's efforts to upend the federal government.

Why it matters: Johnson attempted to shift the blame for a potential shutdown onto House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' shoulders this morning.

• Johnson told reporters that Jeffries seems "to be trying to set up some sort of a government shutdown" and has been "unresponsive the past two days or so."
• Jeffries pushed back on that claim.
• He told us today he's "continuing to negotiate a bipartisan agreement" ahead of the March 14 federal funding deadline.

What we're hearing: Coming in and out of a meeting with Jeffries today, several centrists signaled they're firmly behind their leader.

• "We're not saying we want a government shutdown," said Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas). "We're with the leader in negotiating but to say there are certain things that are important to us."
• Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) told us: "I think that the Republican Party won a mandate and have the votes that they need to pass the funding bill. If they can't get the votes themselves, they're going have to talk to Democrats."

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— Andrew Solender

There are 18 toss-up House races coming in 2026, according to the first Cook Political Report ratings of the cycle.