Congress races to pass spending bill as partial shutdown looms
The spending package that will finance the US government until September has been endorsed by the House of Representatives, marking the initial move in a race among US legislators to meet a midnight deadline and prevent a partial shutdown of government operations.
With a final tally of 286 to 134, just surpassing the required two-thirds majority, the vote saw overwhelming support from Democrats, with only 23 opposing votes, while 112 Republicans dissented.
Next in line is the Senate, controlled by Democrats, where the package is anticipated to garner adequate backing and pass on Friday evening.
This $1.2 trillion (£951 billion) legislation, crafted through bipartisan negotiations, allocates funding for a wide range of federal services until October, including a 3% boost in US defense spending.
The vote underscores the ongoing challenges faced by the slim Republican majority in the House of Representatives in greenlighting new spending measures since seizing control of the chamber last year.
A faction of conservative voices, though small but vocal, has objected to proposed increments in government spending, advocating instead for legislation addressing changes in US immigration laws to tackle the surge of undocumented migrants at the southern border.
In Friday’s House debate on the package, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia asserted, “No Republican in the House of Representatives, in good conscience, can vote for this bill.”
“It is a complete departure of all our principles.”
Ms Greene has since then filed a motion to force an election for a new House Speaker and replace Mike Johnson of Louisiana.
Hard-line Republicans used the same tactic last year to oust the then-speaker, Kevin McCarthy, over another budget disagreement. The move caused Congress to spiral into disarray for weeks, as Republicans sought a new leader to lead the House.
The Georgia congresswoman has taken the first procedural step to follow through on her threat to oust the replacement that Republicans eventually landed on – Mr Johnson.
Ms Greene called the motion a “warning and a pink slip” while speaking to reporters on Friday, as she has allowed a vote on it to be delayed until next month. She added that she respects the chamber and does not wish to “throw the House into chaos”.
But her latest gambit could set up another bitter Republican leadership battle in the chamber just months before November’s US elections.
Meanwhile, the House budget vote on Friday continues the trend in recent government funding fights of Democrats joining some Republicans to approve legislation to avert a shutdown.
Unlike recent votes, however, a majority of House Republicans opposed a funding bill negotiated by their party.
If the Senate fails to approve the legislation, operational funding would cease for some parts of the US government, although the full impact would not be felt until the new work week begins on Monday.
