In a race against time, the House of Representatives passed a critical funding bill late Friday evening, narrowly averting a partial government shutdown just hours before the midnight deadline.
As reported by Fox News, the legislation, which required the approval of two-thirds of the chamber, passed in a sweeping 366-34 vote. Remarkably, all Democrats backed the bill except Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, who opted to vote “present.”
The scramble to secure funding came after a chaotic week in Congress. Earlier attempts to pass a bill were thwarted, including a version championed by President-elect Donald Trump, which faced fierce opposition from both his allies and GOP hardliners.
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Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., ultimately circumvented regular House procedures to fast-track the legislation directly to a floor vote, employing a maneuver known as “suspension of the rules.” This raised the threshold for passage to two-thirds, making Democratic support indispensable.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a vocal critic of Johnson, alleged that the Speaker struck a deal with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., to ensure Democratic backing.
“Trump wanted a debt limit increase, and now we’re bringing the exact same bill to the floor without the debt limit increase,” Massie remarked, signaling his refusal to support the measure.
Meanwhile, Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., noted that Trump and Elon Musk had played pivotal roles in opposing earlier iterations of the bill. “We wouldn’t do it if they weren’t,” Meuser said, referring to the pair’s influence on conservative holdouts.
Their objections centered on perceived “pork” in the initial 1,547-page proposal, including a congressional pay raise, healthcare provisions, and funding for RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.
To placate GOP hardliners, the final version of the bill was pared down to 116 pages, stripping out controversial measures like the stadium funding and pay raise. It retained essential allocations, including disaster relief and funding for the rebuilding of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.
Crucially, the bill did not address the debt ceiling—a sticking point for many conservatives—but Speaker Johnson assured his caucus that the matter would be prioritized early next year as part of broader Republican fiscal reforms.
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During a closed-door meeting Friday, House GOP leaders unveiled a roadmap for tackling the debt ceiling, proposing a $1.5 trillion increase paired with $2.5 trillion in spending cuts. While Democrats largely rallied behind the funding bill, some expressed skepticism about the GOP’s broader fiscal ambitions.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where it is expected to pass, and President Joe Biden has confirmed he will sign it into law. For now, Washington has avoided another shutdown debacle, but the battle over fiscal policy is far from over.
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Source: https://www.rvmnews.com/2024/12/house-narrowly-avoids-shutdown-with-last-minute-funding-bill-watch/
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