Speaker Mike Johnson strikes deal with Democrats for short-term funding extension to AVOID a government shutdown on Friday - but it may anger his GOP hardliner flank

Speaker Mike Johnson and congressional leadership have reached a deal on spending that will require another short-term stopgap bill - the sort he detests and that may anger his GOP hardliner flank.

The deal will push two looming government shutdown deadlines later into the month of March.

The lawmakers were nearing the first deadline at midnight Friday, but the sprawling appropriations bills were not quite buttoned up. 

The breakthrough agreement came the day after President Biden assembled a meeting of the congressional 'Big Four' at the White House Tuesday.

Top lawmakers wrapped up negotiations on Agriculture-FDA, Energy-Water, Military Construction-VA, Transportation-HUD, Interior-Environment and Commerce-Justice-Science bills, which are expected to come up for votes next week, with a deadline of March 8. 

Funding for the other six agencies would expire on March 22. 

Speaker Mike Johnson is eyeing up another stopgap funding bill of the sort he detests, but only with solid negotiated agreements on spending legislation

The breakthrough agreement came the day after President Biden assembled a meeting of the congressional 'Big Four' at the White House Tuesday

Those include Defense, Financial Services and General Government, Homeland Security, Labor-HHS, Legislative Branch and State and Foreign Operations. 

They would likely be lumped together in a number of minibuses that combine funding for different agencies of government into one vote, DailyMail.com has learned. 

A vote one a continuing resolution, or CR, to extend the deadlines is expected in the House on Thursday and the Senate shortly after. 

Congress was working up against a ticking clock to Friday at midnight when the government would go into partial shutdown if no deal were passed. 

Now, the risk of the government being in a partial shutdown during President Biden's State of the Union speech next Thursday has been erased.

The 'Big Four' leaders - Speaker Johnson, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell - released a joint statement Wednesday evening announcing the breakthrough deal.

'We are in agreement that Congress must work in a bipartisan manner to fund our government.' 

'These bills will adhere to the Fiscal Responsibility Act discretionary spending limits and January's topline spending agreement,' the leaders added in their statement.

They also promised to allow members at least 72 hours to review the texts of the appropriations bills. 

Johnson has emphasized that he won't put a vote on the floor to extend the government funding deadline again in hopes that the extra time will allow them to work out an agreement. The agreement already needed to be there. 

But still, selling another short-term deal to conservative hardliners will be tricky.

Some right-wing conservatives have demanded border security provisions be attached to spending legislation, which could thwart any chance of passing both chambers.

Rep. Bob Good - the leader of the farther right House Freedom Caucus - said that the deal is 'more of the same.'

He is pushing for Johnson to attach conservative priorities to the bills, including border security measures. 

Good and the Freedom Caucus even floated earlier this week that Johnson should give up on appropriations talks completely and pursue a full year CR.

'If Congress goes past April 30 on a CR, all discretionary spending is cut 1%!' Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., noted on X of a provision that was named 'the Massie Rule' after him.

A one percent, across the board spending cut was written into the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the debt limit deal negotiated between former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Biden.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., launched the motion to vacate to oust McCarthy because he put a CR on the House floor to punt the government funding deadline. But now Johnson has done the same thing, twice. 

'I hate CRs. We shouldn't do this, and we're not going to do it again next year,' Johnson said in November. 

Other top lawmakers seemed notably optimistic that they could strike a deal and get it passed in both chambers in time.  

After a meeting of President Biden and top congressional leaders, Johnson has offered to push funding deadlines from March 1 for four agencies of government and March 8 for the other eight to March 8 and March 22 respectively

'We're making good progress,' Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said after the White House meeting

'We're making good progress,' Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said after the White House meeting and other meetings with leadership, despite describing their conversation over Ukraine funding as 'tense.'