This afternoon, House Republicans narrowly passed a temporary spending bill aimed at funding the government until October. This leaves moderate Senate Democrats in a difficult position, where they must decide whether to approve the bill or reject it, which could lead to a partial government shutdown just three days from now.
The measure, known as a “continuing resolution” (CR), passed by a 217-213 vote, is designed to keep the government operating until 11:59 p.m. ET Friday. Libertarian-leaning Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and 212 Democrats voted against the bill, while Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) voted in favor, joining 216 Republicans in support.
Reps. Tim Moore (R-NC) and Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) were not present for the vote.
With only 53 Republicans in the Senate, at least seven Democrats must join the Republicans to overcome the filibuster and send the bill to President Trump for signing. However, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) complicated matters by declaring his opposition to the CR.
Rep. Massie was the first House Republican to voice opposition to the measure on Sunday. Meanwhile, lawmakers from both the far-right, such as Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), and the more moderate Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) remained undecided as the vote drew nearer.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and GOP appropriators, with Trump’s backing, devised the short-term spending bill to prevent a government shutdown through September 30.
Since Republicans regained control of the House in January 2023, they have not been able to pass a CR without Democratic support.
“Here’s the bottom line,” Johnson remarked during a press briefing on Tuesday. “If Congressional Democrats refuse to support this clean CR, they will be responsible for every troop who misses a paycheck, for every flight delay from reduced staffing at TSA, and for every negative consequence that comes from shutting down the government.”
Democrats, led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), argue that the CR will not protect essential federal benefit programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. They claim it will cut benefits for veterans and reduce “nutritional assistance for children and families.”
Historically, hardline Republicans have opposed CRs, forcing GOP leaders to rely on Democrats to pass the bills. With 218 Republicans and 214 Democrats in the House, the GOP can only afford to lose one vote if all members are present.
Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), typically a critic of CRs, expressed his full support for the measure during Tuesday’s briefing.
“This is the first continuing resolution in my 14 years that actually reduces the amount of spending from the previous year, while funding the military, funding veterans, funding the women and infant children’s programs,” Harris said.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) highlighted that the stopgap would indeed “increase spending” for veterans and nutrition programs, including an additional $500 million for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
“They either have an issue with reading comprehension,” Johnson charged, referring to his Democratic colleagues, “or they are attempting to run one of the most shameful misinformation campaigns that we have seen in our lives.”
The bill also includes a $6 billion increase in defense spending while cutting $13 billion from non-defense spending compared to the previous fiscal year, which totaled $1.66 trillion.
As part of the spending adjustments, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would receive almost $10 billion to continue Trump’s deportation efforts.
Senior aides to House Republicans briefed reporters on Saturday, explaining that cuts in non-defense spending target earmarks and “side deals” made by ex-Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), former President Joe Biden, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) during a past debt ceiling negotiation.
Vice President JD Vance criticized Johnson’s predecessor for making a poor deal during the debt ceiling dispute, which led to the 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act raising the debt limit. Vance shared these thoughts during a closed-door session with House Republicans on Tuesday, according to a source familiar with the meeting.
Vance also urged House Republicans to press the Senate with the funding bill, forcing Democrats to take a tough vote. He emphasized that keeping funding levels flat would effectively be a cut to government spending.
Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) described Vance’s approach to The Post as “get the first down, keep the ball, keep moving the ball up the field,” following the private meeting. Meuser added that if moderate Senate Democrats do not support the CR, they will “shut down the government.”
Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.), one of the centrist Democrats, described the CR as “awful,” but stopped short of committing to vote against it.
“We’re trying desperately to keep the government open but not to go with a plan that will give Elon Musk and his boys the ability to wantonly chop up government,” Warner said in a video posted to X.
Senator John Fetterman (D-Pa.) seems to be the most likely Senate Democrat to support the CR.
“I’m never going to vote or withhold my vote as part of shutting the government down,” Fetterman told CNN. “I don’t know why any of my colleagues might try to threaten they are going to be shutting down the government. That’s chaos. I’ll never vote for chaos.”
The dilemma for Democrats is that many view the upcoming shutdown fight as their final opportunity to force concessions from Republicans until the appropriations process resumes in September.
“We’re going to wait to see what the House does first,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said on Tuesday.
Democrats are particularly focused on reducing the size of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has led many hardline Republicans to support the CR, hoping to prevent Democrats from gaining leverage over this issue.
To win over reluctant Republicans, GOP leadership pitched the stopgap measure as a way to buy more time for Republicans to work on codifying cuts to DOGE later.
“It takes a little time to get them organized [and] identified. And we’re not going to have that all ready [in time],” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) previously told The Post about the need for more time to codify the cuts.
Congress faces the annual task of funding the federal government for the coming fiscal year, which begins on October 1, or risk a government shutdown. The DOGE cuts might be included in the next fiscal year’s resolution.
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