Republicans scramble for spending deal by Friday

House Republicans late Tuesday had little time to celebrate their pending victory on tax reform, and instead were scrambling to come up with a bill to keep the government open past Friday's deadline.

The House is expected to vote on legislation as early as Wednesday that would keep the government funded fully through Jan. 19 and would include full fiscal 2018 funding for defense.

But that bill won’t pass the Senate.

Lawmakers in the upper chamber plan on stripping out the year-long defense spending and tacking on a measure to fund Obamacare subsidies.

But that legislation can’t pass the House with GOP votes and according to leadership aides, won’t even get floor consideration. That conflict between what can pass the House and what can pass the Senate is leaving Republicans in a bind.