Congress Averts Government Shutdown With Temporary Funding Bill

Billy House

25 September 2024 at 6:29 pm·2-min read

(Bloomberg) -- Lawmakers on Wednesday averted a politically damaging government shutdown and quickly passed a short-term federal funding bill before members darted from Washington for a final campaign stretch ahead of the November election.

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The measure was approved 341-82 in an expedited process that limited floor debate and required two-thirds backing.

Speaker Mike Johnson relied on Democratic votes to help his narrow Republican majority get the bill approved. The opposition came solely from Republicans.

The Democratic-led Senate then swiftly took up the measure, in a 78-to-18 vote reflecting bipartisan approval with time to spare before the Oct. 1 funding deadline. The measure now goes to the president.

The temporary measure will keep funding the US government at current levels through Dec. 20, when Congress will have to approve more spending. The bill also contains $231 million for the US Secret Service to bolster security for presidential candidates, following assassination attempts on former President Donald Trump.

After several weeks of internal House Republican wrangling, Johnson earlier this week called a government shutdown this close to the election “political malpractice.” Republicans earlier have acknowledged that voters would blame a shutdown on them, undercutting their ability to hold onto their narrow majority.

Yet Wednesday’s quick vote came after two weeks of GOP infighting and a failed attempt to pass a partisan short-term spending bill backed by Trump and ultra-conservatives.

Johnson initially proposed a six-month funding extension, tied to new requirements to prove citizenship before registering to vote in federal elections, a plan Trump favored. But the speaker couldn’t muster enough support from his own party to pass the measure.

As a result, Johnson dropped the voting registration provisions and agreed to a three-month timeline that Democrats preferred.

Some conservative lawmakers are criticizing Johnson for turning to Democrats for votes to fund the government and argue the shorter timeline will again put pressure on Republicans to compromise to avoid a government shutdown going into the holiday season.

Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, said Johnson handled the spending fight “poorly.”

Congress turned to the stop-gap measure because lawmakers were unable to agree on funding for the new fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.