House Dem leaders face limited options on spending bill

House Democratic leaders are huddling in the Capitol Thursday morning to plot strategy ahead of the afternoon’s high-stakes vote on an enormous package to fund the government through 2015.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) ripped the proposal on Wednesday, citing a pair of Republican amendments granting new powers to banks and wealthy campaign donors. 

{mosads}But she stopped short of saying she’d vote against the measure based on those provisions, and there’s plenty of pressure on Democrats to back the package — which was negotiated by Democratic appropriators in both chambers — to prevent a government shutdown.

Entering Thursday’s leadership meeting, Pelosi said she’s still hoping Democrats can alter the package.

“We are hoping that the bill will be in different shape than it is [now],” she said.

After the leadership meeting, Democrats were to hold a caucus meeting to discuss the spending bill.

Pelosi faces pressure from liberals in her caucus, who were in full revolt Wednesday over changes in the bill to the Wall Street reform law as well as tweaks that would allow the wealthy to give much more money to political committees.

She also had a meeting Thursday morning with Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate. He publicly ripped the changes to the Wall Street reform law, saying they didn’t belong in the funding bill.

Many Democrats also dislike the Republicans’ strategy to fund the Homeland Security Department on a short-term basis. 

The Democrats have leverage in the debate, because Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is facing a revolt of his own and will need Democratic votes to move the $1.1 trillion spending package to the Senate.

But with the White House and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) signaling approval of the package, House Democrats have limited options. Even liberal Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who has criticized the package’s provisions on banks, hasn’t officially said she would vote against it.

At a Rules Committee hearing on the bill Wednesday night, ranking member Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) offered an amendment to the package eliminating the two controversial amendments. It was shot down by the Republican majority.

The $1.1 trillion spending package is slated for a House vote Thursday afternoon.