Nine House Republicans Voted With Democrats for $1.7 Trillion Omnibus Bill

Nine House Republicans ignored the recommendation of party leadership and voted with Democrats in favor of the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package on Friday.

The legislation passed in a 225-201-1 vote and heads to President Joe Biden's desk to be signed into law. It passed the Senate in a 68-29 vote on Thursday.

According to The Hill, the nine Republicans who joined Democrats in voting for the bill were Reps. John Katko and Chris Jacobs of New York, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Fred Upton of Michigan, Rodney Davis and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington and Steve Womack of Arkansas.

Only Fitzpatrick and Womack are returning to Congress next year. The other seven either declined to run for another term or lost their reelection races.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York was the lone Democrat to vote "no," and fellow progressive lawmaker Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., cast the only "present" vote.

The bill funds the government until the end of fiscal year 2023 on Sept. 30 and includes $772.5 billion in non-defense discretionary spending and $858 billion in defense spending. Funding for Ukraine and the Electoral Count Reform Act were among the other legislative measures written into the bill.

The nine GOP members voted for the omnibus despite party leadership whipping against the legislation. House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., sent out a notice on Tuesday urging conference members to vote against the measure, according to The Hill.

"This deal is designed to sideline the incoming Republican House majority by extending many programs for multiple years and providing large funding increases for Democrat priorities on top of the exorbitant spending that has already been appropriated this year," the notice reportedly read.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., called the spending package "a monstrosity" in a floor speech ahead of Friday's vote, adding that the measure "is one of the most shameful acts I've ever seen in his body."