US House look to pass stopgap funding bill to avert shutdown, Speaker Johnson says on NBC

WASHINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Sunday he hoped to pass a "clean" stopgap federal funding bill that would freeze funding at current levels to avert a partial government shutdown that could otherwise go into effect on March 15.

"We are working hard to do our responsibility to keep the government open. Democrats have to help negotiate this," Johnson said in an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press."