The House passed a bill Friday to avert a partial government shutdown, hours before a midnight federal funding deadline.
The bill required approval by two-thirds of the chamber, but passed by an overwhelming vote of 366 to 34.
All Democrats voted in favor of the bill, except for Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), who voted “yes.”
Lawmakers were scrambling to find a way forward after the original bill was vetoed by President-elect Trump and his allies on Wednesday, and a later Trump-approved bill died in the full House on Thursday. .
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Johnson suggested a vote on avoiding a government shutdown would be held on Friday. (Getty Images/AP)
But President Trump has remained conspicuously silent about this latest measure, which many House Republicans see as a sign of tacit approval.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) expressed optimism after days of uncertainty, speaking to the full House on Friday as he left a closed House Republican meeting where leaders announced their plans. He told reporters that there will be a vote.
“We are not going to shut down the government, and we are going to meet our obligations to farmers in need, disaster victims across the country, military and essential services, and everyone who depends on the federal government for their paychecks. ‘I’m going to go on vacation,’ and I’m still going to get paid,” Johnson said.
Meanwhile, the national debt exceeds $36 trillion, and the deficit exceeds $1.8 trillion.
If the bill passes the Senate, it would extend current government funding levels through mid-March in a measure known as a continuing resolution (CR), extending the $100 billion-plus disaster relief bill to Helen and Milton storm victims. This will be carried out in conjunction with relief efforts. We also provide support to the agricultural industry.
Mr Johnson used a maneuver known as a “suspension of the rules” to circumvent the House of Commons’ normal procedure and bring the bill directly to the full House for a vote.
But in exchange for the fast track, the threshold for passage has been raised from a simple majority to two-thirds of the House, meaning Democratic support is essential.
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Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., told reporters he believed Johnson had reached an agreement with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. . Mr Massey, a long-time critic of Mr Johnson, said he would not vote in favor of the bill.
“Trump wanted to raise the debt ceiling, and now we have the exact same bill on the floor without raising the debt ceiling,” Massey said.
Another Republican argued that Johnson would not move forward without Trump’s blessing.
President-elect Trump called on Republicans to reduce the original spending bill. (Oleg Nikin/Getty Images)
Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pennsylvania), when asked if Trump and Elon Musk support the deal, said, “If they don’t, we won’t do it.” Ta.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk led a conservative revolt against the original plan to avoid a partial shutdown, which was a bipartisan agreement that resulted from negotiations between the top Democrats and Republicans in both chambers.
The 1,547-page bill would extend current government funding levels through March 14. But Republican hardliners were furious at what they viewed as unrelated measures attached to the bill, including pay increases for members of Congress, health policy provisions and targeted legislation. In the revitalization of Washington, DC’s RFK Stadium.
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The bill was scrapped after Trump and Musk threatened to remove any members of Congress who did not support the combination of CR and debt limit measures.
The debt ceiling would be suspended until January 2025 by prior bipartisan agreement, but President Trump had urged Republicans to do so now to avoid a messy, drawn-out battle early in his term.
The second round of funding agreements was much leaner, at 116 pages. The stadium bill and legislative pay increases were excluded, but measures to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore and provide funding for disaster relief funds were included. The debt ceiling has also been suspended until January 2027.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) opposes Johnson’s new CR plan (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
However, the House vote on the second bill was difficult, but it sparked an uproar when 38 Republicans opposed raising or suspending the debt ceiling, but all but two Democrats voted in favor of rejecting the bill.
Mr. Johnson swarmed those holdouts on Friday morning, along with Russell Vought, President Trump’s nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget, and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance.
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The bill passed by the House of Commons on Friday does not address the debt ceiling, but Johnson pledged in the closed session to raise it early next year as part of the party’s major policy and spending overhaul plan. did.
In addition to the CR plan, House Republican leaders in a closed session on Friday raised the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion and then raised net spending by $2.5 trillion, multiple sources told Fox News Digital. announced plans to reduce the dollar amount.
Most Democrats, who left the closed session just before the vote, said they supported the bill, which they did.
President Biden said he would sign the bill into law once it reaches his desk after a vote in the Senate.
Elizabeth Elkind is a political reporter for FOX News Digital, where she leads coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines can be found on the Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow @liz_elkind on Twitter and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com.
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