The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a three-month government funding bill to avert a government shutdown at the end of the month, sending it to the Senate for debate.
The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 341-82 to fund the government at current levels through Dec. 20. The Senate is expected to pass the stopgap bill Wednesday night and send it to President Biden for his signature before the Sept. 30 government shutdown deadline.
The bill also includes a $231 million budget increase for the U.S. Secret Service in the wake of the two assassination attempts on former President Trump.
The bill, passed between the time lawmakers left Washington and after the November election, capped a budget fight this month in the House that included a failed attempt by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) to pass a partisan stopgap bill, pressure from former President Trump to shut down the government for lack of a voting bill, and bipartisan negotiations that produced the final version.
The bill was passed under a suspended two-thirds majority in favour of the bill – Johnson had been forced to abandon plans to bring it forward through the normal process after opposition from some on the right threatened to block it.
But the fight over government funding for this year isn't over: The three-month stretch will set the stage for another shutdown showdown during the lame-duck period in December, when lawmakers will have to rush through spending bills to keep Washington's power on past the new deadline.
Johnson has made it clear that the House will not approve a sweeping omnibus bill to avert a government shutdown in December, good news for hardline conservatives who dislike government-wide measures, but it will be a difficult goal to achieve with Republicans holding a slim majority and Democrats controlling the Senate and White House and under pressure to fund the government and leave town before the Christmas holiday.
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