House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, has successfully passed a new continuing resolution (CR) to prevent a government shutdown. Interestingly, this resolution received more support from Democrats than Republicans.
U.S. lawmakers struggled for months to pass a funding package for the 2024 fiscal year, which commenced on October 1, 2023. In order to prevent a government shutdown, Johnson successfully enacted several short-term funding bills.
Congress successfully avoided a partial government shutdown by approving four appropriations bills before Friday. However, instead of meeting the March 1 deadline, Johnson was able to pass another CR, extending the deadline to March 8. Additionally, the second deadline for funding the majority of government agencies on March 8 has been moved to March 22 with the implementation of the new CR.
The CR was passed in the House with a vote of 320 to 99. Out of the 210 Republicans who voted, 97 voted against the CR. On the other hand, only two out of the 209 Democrats who voted opposed it. The bill was later approved by the Senate with a vote of 77-13 on Thursday evening.
A recurring pattern has emerged in the Republican-controlled House, where GOP members consistently vote against the speaker on crucial bills.
In January, the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act faced opposition from 47 Republicans, however, the bill managed to pass with support from 169 Republicans and 188 Democrats. Among the Democrats who voted, 23 were in opposition. The final vote tally stood at 357-70.
The House passed the National Defense Authorization Act for the 2024 fiscal year with a vote of 310-118 in December 2023. It is worth noting that more Democrats (163) voted in favor of the act compared to Republicans (147). However, there were 73 Republicans and 45 Democrats who opposed it.
During the previous instances when Johnson managed to pass temporary funding bills, Democrats also had to assist the speaker during these votes.
In January, a continuing resolution (CR) was passed with a majority vote of 314-108. The bill received support from 207 Democrats and 107 Republicans. Similarly, in November, another CR was passed with a vote of 336-95, with 209 Democrats and 127 Republicans voting in favor of the measure.
Johnson’s office was contacted by Newsweek for comment via email.
Opposition to short-term spending bills has been observed among certain Republicans, particularly those belonging to the far-right House Freedom Caucus.
According to Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, she expressed her thoughts before the vote on Thursday. She reminded everyone about the previous intense debate on CR’s, rules, omnibuses, and minibuses. She emphasized that during the conference earlier that day, the main topic of discussion was the possibility of implementing a CR, specifically a weeklong CR.
“And then you have the most conservative members of Congress stepping forward, advocating for a one-year CR. It’s hard to find the right words to respond to that,” Greene remarked.
“I support the long-term continuing resolution,” stated Representative Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, prior to the vote. “It’s the best way to gain leverage.”
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