Written by Victor Lekraitis
The House gave its early OK, but it was not without drama as Speaker Johnson faces a motion to remove him.
The Democratic-run U.S. Senate appeared close to passing a $1.2 trillion spending bill aimed at preventing a partial government shutdown, but approval was delayed by the midnight ET funding deadline. It was after.
Both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and President Biden's White House said they do not expect a shutdown.
“We just reached an agreement to finish the job of funding the government,” Schumer, a New York Democrat, said in a floor speech just before midnight. “It's good for the country that we've reached this bipartisan agreement.”
The Senate debated and voted on amendments before moving on to pass the spending package.
After Schumer's announcement, the White House said in a statement that the Budget Office had “suspended preparations for the shutdown because we have high confidence that Congress will soon pass a related appropriation bill and that the President will sign the bill on Saturday.” Ta. Funds are generated and tracked daily, so agencies are not shut down and can continue normal operations. ”
President Joe Biden promised earlier this week that he would immediately sign the bill into law, and the Republican-controlled House passed it Friday morning, but not without some drama. Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene could ultimately fire House Speaker Mike Johnson, accusing him of supporting a “multi-trillion dollar Democratic wish list.” A motion was filed. Greene told reporters that her own motion was “basically a warning” and that she did not want to “cause pain” to Republicans or “destroy the House.”
In the event of a shutdown, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Defense, and the Transportation Security Administration are among the agencies affected, the first since the shutdown began in December 2018.
While disruptive for government agencies, workers and the Americans who rely on them, shutdowns often don't spook investors too much. Since 1978, there have been six shutdowns that lasted five days or more, and in the last four, the S&P 500 stock index SPX rose.
-Victor Lekraitis
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03/23/24 0032ET
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