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Congressional leaders fought late Friday to quell a conservative revolt and pass a bipartisan $1.2 trillion spending bill needed to fund the government through the fall, averting a partial shutdown. They worked hard to get the bill passed by the deadline.
House Republican leaders had planned to vote this morning on a bill that would provide funding for the Department of Homeland Security, Defense Department, State Department and health agencies. But critics say the deal doesn’t include enough spending cuts or enough conservative policy commitments and is being rushed through Congress at an unusually fast pace, infuriating Republicans. Efforts were still being made to quell defections among members.
Speaker Mike Johnson and his colleagues passed the bill under a special procedure, relying on the same coalition of lawmakers (nearly all Democrats and a few Republicans) that has passed every spending bill so far this past year. is trying to quickly pass the House of Representatives. A two-thirds supermajority, or 290 votes. But with hours left before a vote, it is unclear whether Johnson will be able to get even half of MPs to back the bill, and he may not be able to meet that threshold.
If the bill, which combines six spending bills into one package, is defeated in the House on Friday, it would effectively send lawmakers back to square one, hours before government spending is scheduled to expire at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. It turns out. Guarantees at least a partial shutdown.
If the bill passes the House, it remains to be seen whether conservatives in the Senate will agree to bring it to the House for a quick vote. Even one senator can prolong a bill’s consideration.
“Democracy is messy,” Johnson said Thursday in an interview with CNBC. “Right now, and moments like these are especially turbulent, we have to get the job done and there are some very important wins here.”
Both Democrats and Republicans have emphasized the victory of the bill, which was passed after painstaking negotiations. Republicans cited as victories funding for 2,000 new Border Patrol agents, additional detention beds run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and provisions cutting aid to the main U.N. agency providing aid to Palestinians. Democrats secured increased funding for federal child care and education programs, as well as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease research.
But the bill sparked outrage among ultra-conservatives inside and outside the Capitol, rallying supporters to urge lawmakers to vote against it.
“America is being eviscerated by open borders and a $2 trillion deficit. There are blue and red fingerprints on the knife,” said an influential conservative Texas congressman who led the opposition to the bill. Chip Roy wrote on social media Thursday night.
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