Lawmakers Vote Overwhelmingly To Keep Government Open

Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in support of Speaker of the House Mike Johnson’s stopgap spending bill to fund the government through March 2025 and provide disaster relief to hurricane victims Friday evening and early Saturday morning.

The bill’s passage was a sigh of relief to House Republican leadership who failed to secure enough support to pass a stopgap spending bill with a debt ceiling hike attached on Thursday.

The stopgap spending bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), passed the Senate 85-11 early Saturday morning. It will now head to President Joe Biden’s desk for approval.

“If you vote no on this bill, you are effectively voting to shut down the government,” Republican Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, warned lawmakers during floor debate on the CR. “If you vote no on this bill, you’re effectively voting to deny assistance to Americans who suffered enormously from natural disasters. You vote no on this bill, you’re effectively voting not to help rural America in a time of crisis on our farms and ranches all through the country. So, the stakes are pretty clear here.”

Johnson brought the CR to the floor under suspension of House rules, which requires two-thirds of lawmakers to vote in favor in order to secure a bill’s passage.

House GOP leaders announced a new internal agreement to fund the government through March 2025 just hours before lawmakers voted on the measure.

The 118-page CR included $110 billion in disaster relief for victims of Hurricanes Milton and Helene and a one-year extension of the farm bill.

A debt ceiling hike, a priority for President-elect Donald Trump, was notably omitted from the new agreement.

“Congress must get rid of, or extend out to, perhaps 2029, the ridiculous Debt Ceiling,” Trump wrote on Truth Social early Friday morning. “Without this, we should never make a deal. Remember, the pressure is on whoever is President.”

Johnson also weighed in.

“We will not have a government shutdown, and we will meet our obligations for our farmers who need aid for the disaster victims all over the country, and for making sure that military and essential services, and everyone who relies upon the federal government for a paycheck is paid over the holidays,” Johnson told Fox News following the announcement of a funding agreement.