President Biden signed a stopgap funding bill on Friday to keep the government open until early March and buy time for lawmakers to complete the formal spending process.
Biden signed the two-step continuing resolution a day after Congress voted to send the bill to the president's desk. The bill would extend government funding deadlines for four spending bills to March 1 and extend deadlines for eight others to March 8.
The House passed the interim measure on Thursday, 314-108, hours after the Senate approved the bill. The bill is the third short-term spending bill Congress has approved for fiscal year 2024.
The stopgap passage means a hurdle has been cleared for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), who has struck a deal with other congressional leaders to avert a shutdown and then , was able to pitch the proposal to enough members of the conference. Cross the finish line.
But the speaker has had to rely heavily on Democratic support after conservatives criticized the proposal and voiced opposition, citing the lack of spending cuts and border security policies. Only two Democrats, Reps. Jake Auchincloss (Massachusetts) and Mike Quigley (Illinois), voted against the bill.
Prime Minister Johnson brought the bill to the floor under a suspension of rules. It's a fast-track process to avoid initial approval of the rules, which conservatives would have blocked, but it requires two-thirds support to pass, meaning it must be bipartisan.
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was fired in October after making a similar decision.
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