Shutdown looms

 Axios -   House Republicans privately expect a government shutdown next month, Juliegrace Brufke revealed in Axios Sneak Peek.  House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will have to choose in coming weeks between a fight with Democrats that threatens a shutdown — or a deal with Democrats that threatens his job. "People are predicting a shutdown even if it's just for a few days," a GOP lawmaker told Axios. The government will start a partial shutdown unless a budget or spending stopgap is passed by March 1. It will go into a full shutdown if there's not a budget or stopgap by March 8. "We think we're going to meet the deadlines," Johnson told reporters last week. The key date is April 30. If there's not a new budget by then, it will trigger a 1% across-the-board spending cut. Democrats won't back a stopgap bill beyond this.