The third time was the charm for the House on Friday as it passed a stopgap bill that funds the federal government through March and provides disaster relief and aid to farmers without addressing the federal debt limit.
The ball is now in the court of the Democrat-controlled Senate and President Joe Biden, which faced a midnight Friday deadline to avoid a government shutdown and suspension of many services. C-SPAN reported Friday that the Senate will take up the legislation Saturday.
The final vote was 366-34, with one Democrat voting present. All 34 voting against were Republicans. The legislation faced long odds of passing because Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., suspended House rules, requiring a two-thirds majority, or 290 votes, to pass. That meant a large number of Democrats would have to support the bill without many Republican defections.
Earlier in the day, Johnson said Republicans reached a consensus on a deal to fund the government but provided no details on its measures. The New York Times reported the legislation would cover government funding, disaster relief, and payments to farmers, but not a suspension of the federal debt ceiling that President-elect Donald Trump wanted. The debt ceiling issue caused a Republican revolt that sank a previous measure Thursday.
This was the House’s third attempt at passing a stopgap funding bill. The second measure, endorsed by Trump, was defeated by a 235-174 vote Thursday night, with one member voting "present." Thirty-eight Republicans joined 197 Democrats in torpedoing the legislation. That plan was voted on after the initial proposal that Johnson unveiled Tuesday received widespread criticism from Republicans, including Trump.
The initial plan called for extending government spending at current levels until March and added other provisions such as relief for disaster victims and farmers and a pay raise for members of Congress. The second plan would have tied an extension of government funding through March to a two-year suspension of the federal debt limit, as well as a $110 billion disaster relief package that included $10 billion in aid for farmers.