House approves $1.2T package of spending bills
WASHINGTON — The House approved a $1.2 trillion package of spending bills on Friday just a few hours before funding for some key federal agencies is set to expire, a long overdue action nearly six months into the budget year that will push any threats of a government shutdown to the fall.
The bill passed by a vote of 286134 and now moves to the Senate, where leadership hopes for a final vote later Friday. More than 70% of the money would go to defense.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., brought the bill up under a streamlined process that required two-thirds support for approval. The bill narrowly met that threshold with more Republicans voting against it than voting for it, which could spell difficulties for Johnson in the weeks ahead.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., initiated an effort to oust Johnson as the House began the vote but held off on further action until the House returns in two weeks. A similar political dynamic led to the removal of the last Republican speaker, Kevin McCarthy, of California.
The vote breakdown showed 101 Republicans voting for the bill and 112 voting against it. Meanwhile, 185 Democrats voted for the bill and 22 against.
Lawmakers could still miss the midnight deadline for funding the government as action in the Senate could take time. But the practical impact in the near term would be minimal. With most federal workers off duty over the weekend and many government services funded through earlier legislation, a shutdown would mostly pass without incident unless matters dragged into Monday.
Johnson broke up this fiscal year's spending bills into two parts as House Republicans revolted against what has become an annual practice of asking them to vote for one massive, complex bill with little time to review it or face a shutdown. Johnson viewed that as a breakthrough. Still, the bill was clearly unpopular with most Republicans, who viewed it as containing too few of their policy priorities and as spending too much.
“The bottom line is that this is a complete and utter surrender,” said Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., who called himself “a hell no on this bill.”
The opponents particularly took issue with fellow Republicans voting for the bill and the actions of House GOP leadership. Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., went so far as to say “it's clear that the Democrats own the speaker's gavel.”
“We told the people we were going to have a smaller government, and we told the people we were going to secure the border,” said Rep. Warren Davidson, ROhio. “It's a sad day.”
It's taken lawmakers six months into the current fiscal year to get near the finish line, the process slowed by conservatives who pushed for more policy mandates and steeper spending cuts than a Democratic-led Senate or White House would consider. The impasse required several short-term, stopgap spending bills to keep agencies funded as negotiations continued.
Democratic leaders sold the bill to members by emphasizing the hundreds of policy mandates they were able to keep out of the bill and the staving off of deep spending cuts.
“This is a good result for the American people in terms of standing up for their health, their safety, their education, their national security protection and of course, above all else, their economic well-being,” Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said.
The first package of full-year spending bills, which funded the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture and the Interior, among others, cleared Congress two weeks ago with just hours to spare before funding expired for those agencies. Now, lawmakers are considering the second package under a similar scenario.
The 1,012-page bill also funds the departments of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Labor and others.
Nondefense spending will be relatively flat compared with the prior year, though some, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, are taking a hit, and many agencies will not see their budgets keep up with inflation.