Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told reporters on Friday that Democrats have been “unresponsive the last two days or so” and claimed prior to that, the parties were negotiating in “good faith.”

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“It seems like by their comments, I mean, Leader Jeffries and others seem to be trying to set up some sort of government shutdown, which I think is very unfortunate,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s remarks echoed those of Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) on Thursday, who told the Washington Examiner that funding came up during the lengthy House Republican meeting at the White House.

“We’re trying to get there, obviously,” Scalise said. “The Democrats are not in a good place right now, so they’ve walked away from talks, but it’ll have to resume.”

Democrats are pushing back against this characterization, with Appropriations Committee ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) telling the Washington Examiner on Thursday, “That is baloney.”

“You know what? He’s either a knave or a fool. He doesn’t know where he’s going,” DeLauro said.

The ranking member said in a post on Friday that Johnson is “mistaken” and “no one has walked away from the table.”

“We sent them an offer yesterday,” DeLauro said. “He should give Chairman [Tom] Cole a call for a status update.”

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins (R-ME) confirmed that the House and Senate have been “trading offers.”

“So that’s movement. … We finally got an offer back from the Democrats, but I would not say that we are close,” Collins added.

When asked to respond to Johnson and Scalise’s comments, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) simply said “projection.”

He later clarified that DeLauro had tried to get Republicans to respond to her “for weeks” and that Democrats have made it clear “we want to find bipartisan common ground in funding the government to meet the needs of the American people.”

But, he said, “Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the presidency. They have every vote that they need, as we’ve been lectured, to do whatever the heck they want to the American people.”

A top line for appropriations is still elusive, meaning Congress could be facing another continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown on March 14. Under Johnson’s speakership last Congress, the House needed to use CRs multiple times as Republican infighting made it difficult to pass all 12 appropriations bills.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) told reporters that the spending deal “framework” struck between House Republicans, Senate Democrats, and former President Joe Biden‘s administration at the end of the year “is like most political deals: It’s got a shelf life.”

“And that clearly ran out on that one, we can’t recreate that,” Cole said. “And new conditions create different pressures on each and every one of us from our respective colleagues.”

He noted that the Senate appropriated $1.71 trillion and the House appropriated around $1.621 trillion, “so in terms of lines, it’s got to be somewhere between those two numbers.”

Cole confirmed an appetite for a CR is “growing,” which he said as an appropriator “worries you.”

“I would prefer a negotiated bill,” Cole said. “I always prefer a real bill. I think every appropriator on both sides of the aisle does. But you know, we don’t get to call all the shots around here. If we got to call all the shots, this would have been dealt with in December.”

As appropriators work through a spending deal, House Republican leaders are arguing over top-line numbers for budget reconciliation. Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, unveiled his preferred two-bill strategy with a resolution first focusing on border and defense.

This is a blow to House Republicans, who have urged the Senate to hold off and allow the House to do its work.

The argument over a one- or two-bill approach has fractured some of the GOP conference, with Johnson and other House GOP leaders advocating “one big, beautiful bill” as originally requested by President Donald Trump. The president has since said he does not care how many bills it takes, so long as his agenda is enacted as quickly as possible.

Johnson told reporters on Friday there won’t be details on a reconciliation deal released until the end of the weekend “but probably closer to Monday.” He said debt limit would “probably be a part of it.”

“We have just a few final details to iron out,” the speaker said. “It’s going very well. I’m very excited about where we are and the fact that we’re gonna be moving this forward.”