The House passed a short-term spending extension just hours after the bill passed the Senate, delaying the threat of another government shutdown until March and relinquishing Republican influence in enacting border security measures.
The Continuing Resolution (CR) passed 314-108 and will be passed by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) during the lame-duck session of Congress in December 2022. extended the spending levels and priorities set by
Many Republicans made clear their opposition to further CR, but the outcome was never in doubt.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is facing last-minute pressure from conservatives to add border security measures to the CR, a process that would likely delay House passage of the bill until Friday. It will now be sent back to the Senate. They probably wouldn't have even brought the bill to a vote.
But with two to three inches of snow expected in the Capitol on Friday, Prime Minister Johnson opted to bring forward the Senate-passed CR and send the House of Commons home for the weekend.
Republicans focused their frustration with CR on Democrats who refused to address the border issue. But many accused it of once again “business as usual” in short-term financing.
“My question to my colleagues on this side of the aisle is… “What are we going to do?'' he said. Still, I refused to go to the mat to address the issue.
Rep. Chip Roy opposes CR and says Democrats refuse to do anything about “wide open borders.” House Democrats try to rat him out.
Roy replied, “They can shake their heads all they want, but they have the blood of Texans on their hands.” pic.twitter.com/wveGdpZgL4
— Bradley Jaye (@bradleyajaye) January 18, 2024
The bill passed under a suspension of rules that allows for faster consideration of the bill, but requires two-thirds support for passage.
Johnson easily met the margin needed to pass, but another number means potential trouble for him.
With just one vote, Johnson secured 107 Republican votes, giving him a Republican majority over the 106 no votes.
However, Breitbart News reported that Johnson had to switch to yes at the last minute to ensure he won a majority.
Under conference rules adopted by House Republicans at the beginning of the session, the speaker would need support from a majority of Republicans to advance the bill.
Perhaps more importantly, the tally reflects growing dissatisfaction with Johnson's speech. Mr Johnson himself had promised that in 2023 he would not proceed with any further CRs, but he has now done so twice.
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was ousted from office after advancing CR in late September 2023. Some of those who voted to take his gavel justified their vote with support for McCarthy's CR.
Historic: House vote to remove Kevin McCarthy as Speaker
US House of Representatives
McCarthy resigned from Congress in December.
President Joe Biden has until 12:01 a.m. Saturday to sign the bill to avoid a partial government shutdown.
The CR maintains a laddered CR approach, with the first tranche of government funding expiring on 1 March and the second tranche on 8 March.
Bradley Jay is Breitbart News' Capitol Hill correspondent. Follow him on X/Twitter. @BradleyAJay.
