Just weeks before Election Day, Congress took a critical step toward averting a partial government shutdown at the end of the month.
Faced with an Oct. 1 deadline and little bipartisan progress on spending priorities for fiscal year 2025, the House on Wednesday passed a short-term extension of current fiscal year federal funding levels to keep the government afloat through Dec. 20.
The measure, known as a continuing resolution (CR), received broad support from both parties, though as expected more Democrats than Republicans voted in favor.
Johnson's plan to avoid government shutdown thwarted by Republican rebellion
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Mike Johnson is pictured in front of the U.S. Capitol. (Getty Images/AP)
Most Republicans, still upset with House GOP leadership for passing last year's federal budget bill in two big pieces rather than letting the Democratic-controlled Senate consider 12 spending bills separately, were always likely to vote against extending those measures.
Debates over the federal budget have been a source of political drama, particularly in the 118th Congress. A standoff over the government budget last year hastened the House Republican caucus' ouster of former chief executive Johnson.
Fiscal conservatives are unhappy with pushing the fight into December, arguing that it will force the House Republican majority to tackle a large “omnibus” spending bill just before the year-end holidays rather than working on 12 separate budget proposals.
“I've said it publicly: We're doomed to a lame-duck omnibus bill at Christmas,” Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
Shutdown fears lead Republicans to move to protect military pay
Rep. Matt Gaetz (left) pushed for the removal of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (right) from his position last year after passing a Republican amendment. (Getty)
“Unfortunately, I think this is a preview of what's to come,” said Rep. Ralph Norman, a Republican who chairs the House Freedom Caucus.
But Johnson has publicly and privately vowed that the House of Commons will not debate an omnibus bill in December.
“There will be no omnibuses at Christmas. Someone asked me in the corridor a while ago, 'Are there minibuses?' We don't want buses. We're not going to run buses.”
Meanwhile, allies of former President Trump are calling for CR in the new year, hoping that Trump will win the White House and take down Congress as well.
A House Republican leadership staffer suggested to Fox News Digital over the weekend that rather than working on a comprehensive package, Johnson is more likely to aim for a comprehensive bill in December that would do just that.
This would be consistent with the original plan for a more conservative CR, which proposed a six-month funding extension until March, combined with measures to prevent foreign nationals from registering to vote in US elections.
McCarthy's “final stand” threatens to overshadow Johnson's shutdown fight
Rep. Ralph Norman said he wasn't optimistic that a comprehensive bill could be avoided at the end of the year. (Getty Images)
The original plan failed after a rebellion by 14 Republican senators, some defense hawks worried about the impact of a six-month CR on military readiness, and a contingent of fiscal conservatives balked at the very principle of a CR.
The new plan is a more direct funding extension, but it also provides an additional $231 million to the U.S. Secret Service in the wake of two assassination attempts on President Trump.
Click here to get the FOX News app
The Democratic-led White House and Senate had both indicated they would reject Johnson's initial version of the deal, but President Biden and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer have signaled support for the latest version.
The bill will be debated in the Senate on Thursday before being sent to the White House for President Biden's signature.
