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Happy Thursday morning. There are 40 days until Election Day.

The House is only expected to be in session two more days until members leave to run for reelection – today and tomorrow. So when will the House Democrats’ effort to ban stock trading come up for a vote? Sounds like not anytime soon.

Here’s what House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told us last night: “Well, it was just introduced. … I gotta look at it and see what it is.” Hoyer said it appears unlikely the bill will come to the floor for a vote this week.

Other sources inside the House Democratic leadership said there was “very little chance” this bill would be acted upon before the House adjourns for the election.

At Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s request – which we first reported back in February – House Administration Committee Chair Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) took the lead in drafting a stock-trading bill. The 26-page proposal unveiled by Lofgren on Tuesday night would ban stock trading by lawmakers, their spouses, and dependent children, the president and vice president, Cabinet officers, federal judges including Supreme Court justices, and other senior government officials.

Covered public officials would be required to divest their financial investments or place them in a qualified blind trust upon entering government service.

Pelosi has gotten criticism over stock trading by her husband, investor Paul Pelosi, although there’s been no allegation of improper or unethical behavior. Business Insider also reported that dozens of lawmakers may have violated a federal law barring insider trading or conflicts of interest.

But the Lofgren bill has come under heavy criticism on and off Capitol Hill. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn acknowledged there were concerns inside the Democratic Caucus following a leadership meeting Wednesday night. “Oh yeah,” Clyburn said when asked whether he’d heard such complaints. Hoyer also has stated in closed-door leadership meetings that he didn’t like what was being proposed, as we reported on Tuesday.

Lofgren said she’d received “pretty positive” feedback from members on her plan, but she did admit there were concerns from fellow Democrats. “Well, we’re Democrats, we always have a point of view,” Lofgren told reporters.

Lofgren, though, said she doesn’t believe the bill is dead if the House fails to pass it this week.

“I don’t think so because the Senate is not going to get theirs done this week either,” Lofgren added. In fact the Senate has had legislation floating around for months, and there’s been no action to speak of.

Pelosi and other senior Democrats have repeatedly promised a vote on the stock-trading ban this month, but the complexity of the Lofgren proposal and the apparent scale of the opposition make it difficult to see this happening.

One senior aide suggested “Pelosi never really wanted a vote on this anyway” when describing how the speaker handled this issue.

Republicans complain they didn’t have any role in drafting the measure and will vote no. Other Democrats say they haven’t been given time to properly vet it. These Democrats also point out there was no markup or chance to formally review the measure, even if they back the overarching concept.

Today is key for government funding

Top Senate negotiators have yet to agree to a deal on a short-term funding bill to keep the federal government open. But both Democratic and GOP leaders believe the issue will be resolved today, just one day before the end of the fiscal year.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has formally filed cloture on the continuing resolution to fund federal agencies through Dec. 16. That normally means a cloture vote on Friday.

But Schumer’s move is really designed to keep up the pressure on Republicans to continue negotiating. Some GOP senators are seeking amendment votes, although this hasn’t been agreed to yet.

Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are still trying to work to set a time for the CR vote. It’s in both McConnell and Schumer’s interest to schedule a quick vote on the funding bill so lawmakers can get back home to campaign. Schumer has threatened to bring senators back into session in October, although there’s doubt in both parties that he will actually do so.

Schumer has set up a vote on an appeals court judge, Arianna Freeman, for this morning. That will give senators a chance to get together and discuss a compromise, according to Senate aides.

Confirming Freeman, a public defender, is also something of a priority for Democrats.

The Senate failed to confirm Freeman for a Third Circuit Court of Appeals post two weeks ago. Freeman would be the first Black woman and first woman of color to serve on that panel. The vote was 50-47 against Freeman. Schumer voted no – a maneuver that allowed him to offer a motion to reconsider the vote.

Two Democrats – Sens. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire – missed that vote but are in Washington this week, while several Republicans are out. Meaning Democrats should be able to confirm Freeman first, and then get a CR deal passed later.

– John Bresnahan, Jake Sherman and Heather Caygle

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