① The US House of Representatives passed a contingency spending bill on Tuesday to avoid a partial shutdown of the federal government, and a majority of lawmakers from both parties expressed support for the bill This short-term funding bill has been submitted to the Senate, and the leadership of the Democratic and Republican parties in the Senate has expressed support for the bill; ③ This time, hardline conservatives within the Republican Party have stated that they will not oppose Johnson.
The US House of Representatives passed a contingency spending bill on Tuesday to avoid a partial shutdown of the federal government, with a majority of lawmakers from both parties expressing support for the bill.
This short-term funding bill has been submitted to the Senate, and the leadership of the Democratic and Republican parties in the Senate has expressed support for the bill.
To avoid a government shutdown, the Democratic controlled Senate and Republican controlled House of Representatives must pass a bill that President Biden officially signs into law before the short-term funding expires at midnight on Friday.
For Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, who took office less than three weeks ago, the biggest test he faces now is whether he can avoid a government shutdown, and the House vote on the expediency spending bill is his first major vote during his term.
Johnson won the House of Representatives with 336 votes in favor and 95 votes against. The United States House of Representatives currently has a total of 434 seats, with 221 seats for the Republican Party and 213 seats for the Democratic Party. This means that Johnson can lose no more than three Republican support votes on legislation opposed by the Democratic Party.
This expediency spending bill will extend the current level of government funding until 2024, giving lawmakers more time to draft detailed spending bills covering everything from military to scientific research.
Hardliners within the party support Johnson
Some right-wing Republican hardliners have expressed disappointment that the expediency spending bill did not include the significant spending cuts and border security measures they seek.
In a similar vote in September, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy relied on the support of the Democratic Party to avoid a government shutdown, which sparked dissatisfaction among party hardliners and was subsequently dismissed.
But this time, hardline conservatives within the Republican Party have stated that they will not oppose Johnson. We don't support it (the expediency spending bill). But we do support him (Johnson), "Representative Bob Good said.
Johnson's bill will extend funding for military construction, veterans' welfare, transportation, housing, urban development, agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, and energy and water projects until January 19th, and extend funding for all other federal actions, including defense, until February 2nd.
This is the third time this year that the US Congress has fallen into a fiscal stalemate. This spring, the United States fell into a months long stalemate over raising the debt ceiling, putting the federal government on the brink of default. Due to the bipartisan game making the budget bill difficult to produce, at the end of September, the US Congress passed a 45 day short-term spending bill that will expire on November 17th, temporarily avoiding the shutdown of the US government.
Given the ongoing partisan stalemate, Moody's downgraded the US credit rating outlook from "stable" to "negative" last Friday and pointed out that high interest rates will continue to drive up borrowing costs.