Pence: White House, Congress reach deal to avoid government shutdown

Vice President Pence told CNBC on Friday that the Trump administration and Congress have reached a deal to avert a government shutdown without linking it to new coronavirus relief measures.

Why it matters: The federal government is headed towards a shutdown if Congress does not pass legislation, like a continuing resolution, before the end of the month.

• The deal comes as lawmakers prepare to return to Washington for what is expected to be another heated battle over the next coronavirus stimulus.
• Many speculated that another round of pandemic relief would be combined with a funding resolution, but Pence's comments suggest the two issues would be addressed separately.

What he's saying: "The agreement reached this week by the Treasury secretary and our negotiation team to have a continuing resolution to continue to fund the government when the fiscal year runs out at the end of this month means that now we can focus just on another relief bill," Pence said.

• "We’re not going to allow Democrats in Congress to use a coronavirus relief bill to bail out poorly run Democratic states." 

The big picture: Pence's remarks came a day after the AP and other news outlets reported that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reached a tentative agreement on a "clean" stopgap bill.

• "House Democrats support a clean continuing resolution,” Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill told the AP.

The bottom line: The duration of the continuing resolution is unclear, but the AP reported that funding is likely to last until December.