House passes $1.2T budget
The House narrowly passed a $1.2 trillion federal spending bill on Friday — which the Senate will have to vote through quickly and send to President Biden for his signature before a partial shutdown at midnight.
The lower chamber voted 286-134 (with two-thirds needed) to approve the 1,012page bill to fund the State Department, the Pentagon and the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and the legislative branch until Sept. 30.
More Republicans opposed the legislation than voted for it, but the measure was still able to clear the two-thirds barrier and move to the upper chamber for consideration.
The White House called on Congress to pass the bill “without delay” Thursday so the president could sign it before about three-quarters of funding for federal agencies included in it runs out after 11:59 p.m.
Midvote motion
In a stunning move, far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-Ga.) filed a motion to vacate against House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) midvote, a GOP aide confirmed to The Post after Punchbowl News reported it.
Another aide said Greene would have to announce her motion at one of the chamber’s microphones, but the House was likely to gavel out of session before that could happen.
House and Senate leaders and appropriators of both parties trumpeted some fiscal and policy wins in the legislation, including increased funding for the southern border and national defense, and Democrats approved of having rejected “right-wing” add-ons.
“As far as I could tell, the overwhelming majority of right-wing policy riders have been rejected and are not part of the spending agreement, including in critical areas,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said at a Thursday press conference.
“We made changes and decided on efforts that include countering China, developing next-generation weapons and investing in the quality of life of our service members,” House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-Texas) said in a floor speech.
A coalition of conservative fiscal groups, pro-Israel organizations and military associations also backed the six-bill spending package.
But many Republicans railed against leadership for putting it up for a quick vote — and vowed to oppose it on the floor.
“I have a real problem with giving the Biden Administration more money without changes to his border policy,” Staten Island Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) posted on X.
Congress passed an earlier six-bill, $467.5 billion “minibus” on March 8 — also despite Republican opposition — which funded the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Transportation, Commerce, Justice and Housing and Urban Development, as well as the Food and Drug Administration and military construction.