The threat of a federal government shutdown suddenly receded Saturday after the House of Representatives quickly passed a 45-day funding bill to keep agencies open after Speaker Kevin McCarthy dropped demands for steep cuts and turned to Democratic votes left for approval.
The rushed package would forgo aid to Ukraine, a White House priority opposed by a growing number of Republican lawmakers, but increase federal disaster aid by $16 billion, fully meeting President Joe Biden’s request.
It comes alongside the Senate, which met late in the evening, hours to go before the midnight deadline to fund the government.
“We’re going to do our job,” Mr. McCarthy, the Republican leader of the House of Representatives, said before the House vote. “We’ll be in the room as adults. And we are going to keep the government open.”
It was a dizzying turn of events in Congress after days of chaos in the House of Representatives brought the government to the brink of a disruptive federal shutdown.
If no deal is reached by Sunday, federal workers would face furloughs, more than 2 million active and reserve military troops would work without pay and programs and services that Americans rely on from coast to coast would face disruptions of the shutdown.
The House of Representatives measure would fund the government at current 2023 levels for 45 days, through Nov. 17, creating another potential crisis if the country fails to fund the government by then more fully financed. The package passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 335 to 91, with most Republicans and almost all Democrats supporting it.
But the loss of aid to Ukraine was devastating for lawmakers from both parties who vowed to support President Volodymyr Zelensky after his recent visit to Washington. The Senate bill included $6 billion for Ukraine, and both chambers ground to a halt Saturday as lawmakers assessed their options.
“The American people deserve better,” said House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, warning in a lengthy speech that “extreme” Republicans were at risk of being shut down.
To pass the House package, Mr. McCarthy had to rely on Democrats as the speaker’s far-right flank has said it will oppose any short-term funding measure, depriving him of the necessary votes from his slim majority. It’s a move that puts his job in jeopardy amid calls for his ouster.
Having left his right flank behind, Mr McCarthy will almost certainly face a motion to try to remove him from office, although it is not at all certain that there will be enough votes to overthrow the chairman. Most Republicans voted in favor of the package on Saturday, while 90 were against.
“If someone wants to remove me because I want to be the adult in the room, go ahead and try,” Mr. McCarthy said of the threat to remove him. “But I think this country is too important.”
The White House monitored developments on Capitol Hill and aides briefed the president, who spent the weekend in Washington.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who has defended aid to Ukraine despite resistance from his own ranks, is expected to continue pursuing U.S. support for Kiev in the fight against Russia.
The quick turnaround in the House of Representatives comes after the collapse Friday of McCarthy’s earlier plan to pass a Republican-only bill with sharp cuts of up to 30% for most government agencies, which the White House and Democrats rejected as too extreme.
“Our options are slipping away every minute,” said senior Republican Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida.
The federal government was headed straight for a shutdown that poses serious uncertainty for federal workers in states across America and the people who depend on them — from troops to Border Patrol agents to office workers, scientists and others.
Families who rely on Head Start for children, food benefits and countless other programs large and small are facing potential disruptions or outright closures. At airports, Transportation Security Administration officials and air traffic controllers are expected to work without pay, but travelers may face delays in updating their U.S. passports or other travel documents.
An earlier McCarthy plan to keep the government open collapsed Friday amid opposition from a faction of 21 far-right holdouts, despite steep cuts of nearly 30% in many agencies and tight border security provisions.
The White House has pushed aside overtures from Mr. McCarthy to meet with President Biden after the speaker walked away from the debt deal they brokered earlier this year that set budget levels.
Facing his far-right flank, McCarthy had made several concessions, including returning to the spending limits that Conservatives demanded in January as part of the deal that would help him become Speaker of the House of Representatives.
But that wasn’t enough, as the right flank insisted that the House follow regular rules and debate and pass each of the 12 separate spending bills needed to fund government agencies, which is typically a months-long process.
McCarthy’s top Republican critic, Matt Gaetz of Florida, has warned he will introduce a motion calling for a vote to impeach the chairman.
Some of the Republican holdouts, including Mr. Gaetz, are allies of former President Donald Trump, Mr. Biden’s main rival in the 2024 race. Mr. Trump has encouraged Republicans to fight hard for their priorities and even ‘to close’.
At an early closed-door meeting at the Capitol, several Republicans in the House of Representatives, especially those facing tough reelections next year, urged their colleagues to find a way to avoid a shutdown.
“We all have a responsibility to lead and govern,” said Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York.
The only House Democrat to vote against the package, Mike Quigley of Illinois, co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, called it a victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin and “Putin sympathizers everywhere.” He said: “Protecting Ukraine is in our national interest.”
Associated Press writer Colleen Long contributed to this report.