The House of Representatives has passed emergency legislation to keep the government funded through the holidays into next year, handing new Speaker Mike Johnson a major victory amid the Republican chaos.
The so-called ‘laddered’ continuation resolution (CR) did not include cuts or additional funding for Israel or Ukraine. It will go now to the Senate, where it will likely pass before the government runs out of funding Friday.
Funding for four non-controversial agencies and projects, including military construction and veterans affairs, is extended through Jan. 19 and funding for eight others runs through Feb. 2.
More Democrats voted for the measure than Republicans: 209 to 127.
It was Johnson’s first big test as chairman, and while right-wing Republicans voted against the plan, they kept the idea of removing him from office at the forefront, the same way eight Republicans removed Kevin McCarthy from office last month. As a result, Johnson was forced to rely on Democratic support to get the bill across the finish line.
The bill’s passage came during a dramatic day on Capitol Hill. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was accused of pushing a colleague who voted to oust him from the presidency, which he has denied.
It was Johnson’s first big test as chairman, and while right-wing Republicans are angry about the plan, they have put off the idea of removing him from office.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy denied elbowing fellow Rep. Tim Burchett, claiming the Tennessee congressman “would know” if he did because he would be “on the spot”
“If I hit someone, they would know. If I punched someone in the kidney, they would be on the ground,” McCarthy told reporters after the incident with Rep. Tim Burchett.
Rep. James Comer got into a heated argument with Democratic Rep. Jared Jared Moskowitz and called him a “smurf” and a “liar” after accusing him of misleading the American people during the ongoing investigation into President Biden.
In the Senate, Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin stood up and challenged a team boss to a fight during a separate hearing.
“This place is like a pressure cooker,” Johnson said earlier Tuesday, after the House of Representatives had been in session for 10 weeks.
“This will allow everyone to go home for a few days for Thanksgiving so everyone can cool off,” Johnson told reporters at the tiered CR.
Before the vote, House Democratic leaders issued a statement saying they had worked with Republicans to find “common ground” on the bill and would support it.
The main reason for Democrats to participate was that the CR is still at fiscal year 2023 spending levels.
The measure passed under “suspension,” meaning there was no rule vote but required two-thirds of the House to vote for it to pass.
The bill also does not expand FISA 702 authorities, which allow the FBI to wiretap foreign nationals without a warrant but has been criticized for sweeping up U.S. citizens. It extends the provisions of the Farm Bill through September 2024.
It pushes back the funding deadline until after Christmas after Speaker Mike Johnson insisted he didn’t want the House to be “gridlocked” before the holidays and forced to agree to a one-year spending plan drawn up by the Senate.
The nearly 50-member House Freedom Caucus spoke out against the bill before it was brought to the floor, arguing that cuts are needed.
“While we remain committed to working with Chairman Johnson, we need bold changes,” the caucus said in a statement.
Conservative Republicans are pushing for Congress to go through 12 single-issue appropriations bills to fund each government agency, rather than a CR or an omnibus that lumps together funding for all of Congress’s agencies.
The so-called ‘ladder approach’ is intended to force negotiations on individual credit laws. The House would have two months to get through the first four before running out of funding, and then another two weeks to get through the final eight.
“This place is like a pressure cooker,” Johnson said after the House had been in session for 10 weeks
But months after the trial, Republicans have so far passed five of 12 party-line appropriations bills and those bills have yet to be debated by the Democratic-led Senate.
‘So I think everyone can go home. We can come back and reset, we’re going to put our plan in place,” Johnson said before the vote.
“We’re going to map out that plan to fight with those principles and we already have some great plans and a playbook.”