Table Of Content
- House Democratic appropriators are circulating a memo raising issues with the GOP proposal
- Speaker Mike Johnson unveils plan to avert shutdown next week
- More from CBS News
- Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene vows to force a vote next week on ousting House Speaker Mike Johnson
- The Senate is delaying a procedural vote while they figure out what is happening in the House
- BREAKING: House passes spending bill to avert government shutdown. The bill is now headed to the Senate
She said 275,000 children would lose access to Head Start, making it harder for parents to work. His package would not have cut the Defense, Veterans or Homeland Security departments but would have slashed almost all other agencies by up to 30% — steep hits to a vast array of programs, services and departments Americans routinely depend on. “Extreme House Republicans are now tripling down on their demands to eviscerate programs millions of hardworking families count on,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. The bill's unveiling was delayed by haggling over language related to location of the FBI's future headquarters.
House Democratic appropriators are circulating a memo raising issues with the GOP proposal
Congress approved a government spending bill late Thursday, averting a potential government shutdown with about 24 hours to spare after the latest example of the partisan standoffs crippling Washington’s most basic functions. Just two days into the workweek, the House hit a crisis Wednesday when hard-right Republicans forced the chamber to a standstill. They voted against a routine procedural rules package as a way to demand the speaker's attention. Johnson, overseeing a narrow House majority, has therefore had to rely on Democrats to pass the continuing resolutions that have funded the government in recent months, a dynamic that continued in Thursday's vote.
Speaker Mike Johnson unveils plan to avert shutdown next week
To do so, Republicans are expected to bring the bill under a suspension of the rules, meaning a sizable number of Democrats will be needed to pass it. This gives lawmakers a path to consider the spending bill very quickly in the Senate, possibly avoiding a shutdown (or at least shortening it), as long as the bill passes the House and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer brings it to the Senate floor. He told CNN on Saturday that he will not slow down the Senate's consideration of the House GOP's 45-day spending bill — which, crucially, does not include Ukraine funding — if it passes the House and the Senate takes it up. House appropriators are circulating a memo raising issues with the short-term funding bill that Speaker Kevin McCarthy is planning to bring to the floor, per a copy obtained by CNN. After meeting privately in his office in the Capitol with Republicans irate about the spending agreement, Mr. Johnson said he was discussing their demand to walk away from the bipartisan agreement but had “made no commitments” to do so.
More from CBS News
Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at cbsnews.com and is based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation. "We are pausing on our plans to move forward on the Senate vehicle to allow the House to move first with their proposal," Schumer said of the delay. "I'm not going to make a judgment on what I'd veto and what I'd sign, let's wait and see what they come up with," Mr. Biden told reporters. A White House statement on Saturday condemning the bill as an "unserious proposal" stopped short of a veto threat. President Biden signaled Monday that he could be open to signing it if it passes Congress.
House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled his proposal on Saturday to avoid a partial government shutdown by extending government funding for some agencies and programs until Jan. 19, and continuing funding for others until Feb. 2. Johnson, Schumer and other congressional leaders and committee heads visited the White House on Wednesday to discuss that spending legislation. Johnson used the meeting to push for stronger border security measures while Biden and Democrats detailed Ukraine’s security needs as it continues to fight Russia. House Republicans have fought bitterly over budget levels and policy since taking the majority at the start of 2023. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted by his caucus in October after striking an agreement with Democrats to extend current spending the first time.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene vows to force a vote next week on ousting House Speaker Mike Johnson
The spending agreement will keep funding at previously set levels through Feb. 18. Democrats wanted a shorter extension because they don’t want to live longer than necessary under levels negotiated with former President Trump. “I am glad that in the end, cooler heads prevailed; the government will stay open,” Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said as the votes got underway Thursday night. When asked whether he has faith in Johnson's leadership, Rep. Chip Roy, a Texas Republican who has been outspoken throughout the spending fight, said "this is not the call I would have made."
The Senate is delaying a procedural vote while they figure out what is happening in the House
Supporters of a staggered short-term bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), argue it puts targeted pressure on lawmakers to achieve their goals at an incremental rate. The Senate was set to hold a procedural vote Monday night on a legislative vehicle for its short-term funding extension, but delayed the vote. Last week, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York called the "laddered" approach a "nonstarter." But the bill's exclusion of spending cuts and amendments make it more appealing to Democrats. Like McCarthy, Johnson will have to rely on Democrats to pass the stopgap measure, but there has so far been no sign that Republicans would rush to oust Johnson in the same way McCarthy was removed, since he's had so little time as speaker. It is not known whether enough House Republicans will back Johnson's two-step plan while they negotiate long-term spending plans. Jeffries said Democrats were concerned about the bifurcated deadlines in Johnson's plan, but said it's "extremely important" to avoid a funding lapse.
BREAKING: House passes spending bill to avert government shutdown. The bill is now headed to the Senate
While Greene pushes to oust Johnson, many Republicans tell ABC News that they are not on board with her effort. Greene's effort comes in an election year, when many Republicans do not seem interested in engaging in another speakership battle that could project uncertainty in their conference. The removal of McCarthy in October left the House adrift for nearly a month, unable to take up legislation as Republicans struggled to select a replacement.
Congress has no clear plan to avoid a government shutdown in one week - NPR
Congress has no clear plan to avoid a government shutdown in one week.
Posted: Fri, 10 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Right Wing Pressures Johnson to Abandon Spending Deal to Avert Shutdown
House Republicans unveil plan to avoid government shutdown - The Associated Press
House Republicans unveil plan to avoid government shutdown.
Posted: Sat, 11 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
All of the Democrats in the House voted for the bill, and the tactic succeeded in preventing a government shutdown. But it cost McCarthy the speakership, after Rep. Matt Gaetz introduced a vote of no confidence against him. The plan puts Republicans "in the best position to fight for fiscal responsibility, oversight over Ukraine aid and meaningful policy changes at our southern border," Johnson said.
In the morning before Johnson made his statement, he met with about two dozen House Republicans, more of them centrist-leaning voices, urging him not to go back on his word and stick with the deal. As some Republicans from the Freedom Caucus again raise the threat of a motion to oust the speaker over the deal, other Republicans are furious they are starting 2024 with the same problems of governing. Democrats are still weighing how they will proceed and they are stalling for more time.
The money requested for infrastructure and other purposes, more than $2 trillion, would be spent over an eight-year period, starting with the coming fiscal year. The money for families is expected to add at least $1 trillion, also over a multiyear period. “We still haven’t seen a single page of the Pelosi-Schumer spending bill, and they’re expecting us to pass it by the end of this week," tweeted Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla. “It’s insane." “We are now one step closer to protecting our democracy and preventing another January 6th," said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. “The bitterness of winter has descended on Eastern Europe, and if our friends in Ukraine hope to triumph Russia, America must stand firmly on the side of our democratic friends abroad," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
That number includes a 22% increase for VA medical care to help pay for an expansion of health care services and benefits to veterans exposed to toxic burn pits during their service. Some environmental advocacy groups expressed frustration with the funding increases for agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Park Service, which they said don't keep up with inflation. He framed the longer-term spending bill as a victory for the GOP, even as many will undoubtedly vote against it.
Even the failed plan, an extraordinary concession to immediately slash spending by one-third for many agencies, was not enough to satisfy the hard-right flank that has upturned his speakership. “We've transferred huge sums of money away from Democrats' spending wish list toward our national defense and armed forces, but without allowing the overall cost of the package to go higher," McConnell said. The legislation also includes historic revisions to federal election law that aim to prevent any future presidents or presidential candidates from trying to overturn an election. The bipartisan overhaul of the Electoral Count Act is in direct response to former President Donald Trump’s efforts to convince Republican lawmakers and then-Vice President Mike Pence to object to the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory on Jan. 6, 2021.
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