The House passed a $1.2 trillion spending bill Friday to fund the government through September and avert a partial weekend shutdown, sparking a Republican revolt that threatens Speaker Mike Johnson's grip on the job.
Leaders seeking the two-thirds majority needed for passage ended in a 286-134 vote, with Democrats rallying to rally support to overcome fierce opposition from conservative Republicans.
In Georgia, the hard right balked at a painstakingly negotiated bipartisan bill to keep funding flowing to government agencies like the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security, as votes were still underway. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has begun the process of introducing the bill. He votes to expel Mr. Johnson.
Minutes after the vote, Greene told reporters on the House steps that she would not call for an immediate vote to remove her, but that she had begun the process as a “warning” because her actions were a “betrayal.”
“This was our power,” Greene said of the spending law. “This is an opportunity to secure the border, and he didn't do it. And now this funding bill passes without a majority.”
The bill passed just hours before Saturday's 12:01 a.m. shutdown deadline and was sent to the Senate to avoid a funding shortfall. Senators expected to pass the bill, which began consideration Friday afternoon, but it remained unclear whether they would vote on it and send it to President Biden's desk by midnight.
Federal budget officials had not expected any disruptions even if the funding temporarily expired over the weekend.
But Sen. Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, urged lawmakers to allow swift approval of the spending measure.
“Let's get the job done today,” he said on the Senate floor.
The 1,012-page bill, which combines six spending bills into one package, faced a difficult passage in the House due to backlash from ultra-conservatives over the measure. They delivered a series of furious speeches from the floor accusing Mr. Johnson of negotiating a bill that amounted to, in Mr. Greene's words, “a brutal attack on the American people.”
No other Republicans have publicly said they support expelling Johnson, but Democrats have signaled in recent weeks that they could help protect Johnson if he comes under threat from Republicans. It suggests.
However, passing this bill came at a heavy political cost to the Speaker. The speaker was forced to violate an unwritten but sacred rule within House Republicans that Greene alluded to against introducing legislation that does not have the support of a majority of members. Only 101 people, less than half, were Republicans.
As a result, Democrats once again received the majority of the votes to pass the bill in the House.
Democratic leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York told reporters at the Capitol ahead of the vote, “Again, it's up to House Democrats to pass the legislation that Americans need.'' ” he said.
Republicans have included a number of changes in the spending package, including funding for 2,000 new Border Patrol agents, adding detention beds run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and provisions to cut aid to the main U.N. agency providing aid to Palestinians. We won the inclusion of the clause. It would also increase funding for technology at the southern border by about 25%, while cutting funding to the State Department and foreign aid programs by about 6%.
“House Republicans won on conservative policies, rejecting extreme Democratic proposals and imposing deep cuts while significantly strengthening our national defense,” Johnson said in a statement after the vote. “This process is also an important step in breaking omnibus muscle memory and represents the best outcome achievable in a divided government.”
But conservatives argued that the bill was not conservative because of the $1.2 trillion amount. They were particularly enraged to see $200 million in new funding for a new FBI headquarters in Maryland and specific funding requested by senators for an LGBTQ center.
“We have removed all the toxic riders, but Mr. Schumer will not agree to remove their toxic marks,” said Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Alabama, chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that oversees labor and health programs. Deaf,” he said. Mr. Aderholt opposed the bill.
Ahead of Friday morning's vote, Arizona Republican Rep. Andy Biggs slammed the bill as “full of nonsense” and called on Mr. Johnson to be more combative in negotiations with Democrats.
“Good luck, fight!” said Mr. Biggs. “This is surrender, this is surrender.”
Democrats secured $1 billion in new funding for federal child care and education programs and increased funding for cancer research by $120 million.
“This bill doesn't have everything that either side wanted,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. “However, I am satisfied that many of the extreme cuts and policies that House Republicans proposed were rejected.”
A few minutes later, standing on the House floor, Mr. Biggs ruefully agreed with Mr. DeLauro's assessment.
“And yet somehow Republicans are going to vote for it?” he said. “That's outrageous. But she's right. She took the spending. She killed the riders.”
Robert Jimison Contributed to the report.
