House Republicans are planning to fast-track a three-month spending bill in order to keep the government open, bypassing the Rules Committee due to opposition from conservative members. The bill will require a two-thirds majority for passage, putting House Speaker Mike Johnson in a position of needing to rely on Democrats for support. The plan is to bring the bill for a vote on Wednesday under a procedure known as suspension of the rules.
The House Rules Committee originally planned to vote on the measure for a floor vote, but conservative members such as Rep. Thomas Massie and Rep. Chip Roy opposed it, leading to the rule vote being nixed. House conservatives have been pushing for the passage of individual appropriations bills to fund the government, arguing that the short-term bill sets up the possibility for a massive spending bill at the end of the year. Despite concerns from conservatives, Johnson unveiled the three-month funding plan after his initial proposal was rejected by the House.
In a letter to colleagues, Johnson stated that the three-month measure is the only option left and emphasized that it is a narrow, bare-bones continuing resolution. The bill includes additional funding for the Secret Service but no longer includes a voting measure that Democrats had opposed. Johnson expressed that shutting down the government close to the election would be a mistake and indicated that former President Trump understood the situation. Both House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer praised the bipartisan negotiations that led to the funding agreement.
The bipartisan nature of the negotiations was commended by Schumer, who expressed hope that Congress would pass the legislation swiftly. The agreement was reached after weeks of discussions, with Schumer criticizing House Republicans for initially aligning with Trump’s partisan demands instead of cooperating from the start. Overall, the focus is now on passing the short-term funding bill in order to prevent a government shutdown and keep the government operational until after the November election.
