Government shutdown averted as Senate sends Biden funding bill: Live
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s two-step funding bill easily passed the US senate ahead of 17 November government shutdown deadline – after Democrats joined Republicans to pass vote in the lower chamber
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Your support makes all the difference.The Senate has overwhelmingly passed a deal to avoid a government shutdown after Democrats helped the deal pass the House of Representatives. Now, the bill will go to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.
Earlier, the House closed down until after Thanksgiving with no votes until 28 November after Speaker Mike Johnson failed to pass another spending bill following his enlisting of the Democrats to get through the funding package.
Texas Rep Chip Roy told CNN that going ahead with the spending bill without cuts and passing it under suspension of the rules with the help of members from across the aisle was “strike one and strike two” for Mr Johnson.
“The Swamp won and the speaker needs to know that,” Mr Roy said. “We’ll go figure out what’s next but I can tell you Republican voters are tired of promises to fight. We want to actually see change. And so you know, we’ll see what happens but, but our approach shouldn’t be assumed when they’re needed and then get rolled on a suspension.”
In total, 209 House Democrats joined in to help fund the government, with the package passing 336 to 95, with 93 Republicans voting against.
GOP rep claims Kevin McCarthy physically shoved him amid shutdown spat
Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy is reported to have shoved one of the members who voted to oust him in the halls of Congress.
Mr McCarthy was seen by reporters elbowing Rep Tim Burchett, who told CNN that it was a “clean shot to the kidneys”.
Claudia Grisales of NPR was speaking to Mr Burchett at the time on Tuesday, writing on X that she had “never seen this on Capitol Hill”.
“While talking to @RepTimBurchett after the GOP conference meeting, former @SpeakerMcCarthy walked by with his detail and McCarthy shoved Burchett. Burchett lunged towards me. I thought it was a joke, it was not. And a chase ensued,” she wrote.
A spokesperson for Mr Burchett told The Independent: “I don’t have any official comments on the incident from the Congressman, but I do not have anything in that tweet that I wish to correct.”
‘You can’t assume my vote on any bill,’ Chip Roy says
Rep Chip Roy appeared on Fox, saying, “you can’t assume my vote on any bill, if the speaker is going to roll us”.
“I don’t like playing the ultimatum game, I will simply say that. I don’t want anybody to try to sell me something and call it border security if it’s not,” he added.
VIDEO: Speaker Mike Johnson says Congress 'addicted' to deficit spending
VIDEO: House to vote on preventing government shutdown amid GOP infighting
VIDEO: James Comer throws ‘smurf’ insult at Rep. Moskowitz in heated House hearing argument
House prepares for vote to prevent government shutdown
The House prepared on Tuesday for a vote to prevent a government shutdown, with new Republican Speaker Mike Johnson forced to reach across the aisle to Democrats when hard-right conservatives revolted against his plan.
To keep the federal government running into the new year, Johnson was willing to leave his right-flank Republicans behind and work with Democrats — the same political move that cost the last House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, his job just weeks ago.
This time, Johnson of Louisiana appeared on track for a temporarily better outcome as some Republicans showed signs of unrest but stopped short of threatening to remove the speaker, who has been on the job for just three weeks. The Senate would act next, ahead of Friday’s shutdown deadline.
“Making sure that government stays in operation is a matter of conscience for all of us. We owe that to the American people,” Johnson said at a news conference at the Capitol.
‘You have to choose fights you can win’
The new Republican leader faces the same political problem that led to McCarthy’s ouster —angry, frustrated, hard-right GOP lawmakers rejecting his approach, demanding budget cuts and determined to vote against the plan. Without enough support from his Republican majority, Johnson had little choice but to rely on Democrats to ensure passage to keep the federal government running.
“We’re not surrendering,” Johnson assured after a closed-door meeting of House Republicans, vowing he would not support another stopgap. “But you have to choose fights you can win.”
Johnson, who announced his endorsement Tuesday of Donald Trump as the Republican nominee for president, hit the airwaves to sell his approach and met privately Monday night with the conservative Freedom Caucus.
A ‘bizarre’ two-part process
Under his proposal, Johnson is putting forward a unique — critics say bizarre — two-part process that temporarily funds some federal agencies to Jan. 19 and others to Feb. 2. It’s a continuing resolution, or CR, that comes without any of the deep cuts conservatives have demanded all year. It also fails to include President Joe Biden’s request for nearly $106 billion for Ukraine, Israel, border security and other supplemental funds.
Johnson says the innovative approach would position House Republicans to “go into the fight” for deeper spending cuts in the new year, but many Republicans are skeptical there will be any better outcome in January.
The House Freedom Caucus announced its opposition, ensuring dozens of votes against the plan.
“I think it’s a very big mistake,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a member of the hard-right group of lawmakers.
“It’s wrong,” said Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn.
It all left Johnson with few other options than to skip what’s typically a party-only procedural vote, and rely on another process that requires a two-thirds tally with Democrats for passage.
More House Democrats than Republicans vote to keep the government open
More Democrats than Republicans voted in the US House of Representatives for a temporary stopgap spending bill to avert a government shutdown.
Some 209 Democrats voted for the bill while 127 Republicans opposed the legislation for a “laddered” continuing resolution that would keep parts of the government funded until 19 January 2024 and other parts until 2 February 2024.
The vote is a win for newly-elected Speaker Mike Johnson, who proposed the two-tiered approach as a means to avoid passing an “omnibus” spending bill, but rather to pass 12 individual spending bills, a demand from right-wing members of the House Republican conference.
Eric Garcia has the full story from Washington for The Independent.
More House Democrats than Republicans vote to keep the government open
More Democrats than Republicans voted in the US House of Representatives for a temporary stopgap spending bill to avert a government shutdown.
Are Republicans already plotting revenge against Mike Johnson?
Kevin McCarthy lost his position as House Speaker not long after he helped pass a controversial government funding bill with partial Democratic support.
The GOP may be plotting a similar punishment for the new House Speaker, Mike Johnson, after he took the same tactic to avoid a government shut down.
Some in the Republican party are considering holding up future legislation in protest of the conciliatory strategy.
“There is a sentiment that if we can’t fight anything, then let’s just hold up everything,” Ralph Norman of South Carolina told Politico.
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