Category: Politics

Late last night, House Republicans were able to advance three of 12 appropriations bills that would fund the government for the next fiscal year – making it four total spending bills that have now been advanced to the Senate. The sudden advancement of the appropriations bills adds a new wrinkle to the fight over the federal budget on Capitol Hill with just over 24 hours left before a potential government shutdown.

The bills passed included funding for State Department and Foreign Operations, Defense, and Homeland Security and would fund roughly 70 percent of the government. The appropriations bill funding the Veterans Administration and Veteran Healthcare was passed prior to last night. The Agriculture appropriations bill failed to secure a majority of votes and will be further amended before it is reconsidered.

In the Senate, Democrats and establishment Republicans led by Mitch McConnell are preparing to vote through a Continuing Resolution (CR) that would fund the government at current spending levels – including $6.4 billion for Ukraine. The Senate will vote on final passage of the CR tomorrow morning, even though the legislation has been declared dead-on-arrival in the House because of the bloated Ukraine spending. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) is whipping Republicans to strip out the Ukraine funding, with Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Dr. Roger Marshall (R-KS) joining him. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) is rumored to be pushing his own clean CR proposal that does not include Ukraine funding.

In all likelihood the government will, for a time, shutdown.

Senate Democrats led by Chuck Schumer are unlikely to take up the House passed appropriations bills. The death of Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA), along with Sens Tina Smith (D-MN) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) – both sidelined with COVID – leaves Republicans effectively in control of the upper-legislative body with 49 members to the Democrats 47. Despite this temporary advantage Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has not indicated that he will seek to advance the House budget bills either.

As House Republicans continue to work on the remaining appropriations legislation, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) attempted to advance a 30-day Continuing Resolution that would temporarily fund the government at pre-COVID levels, including the border security bill. The new House leadership-backed CR passed a critical procedural hurdle but was ultimately defeated this afternoon by a block of conservative members including Reps. Gaetz, Buck, Boebert, Crane, Gosar, Mills, Rosendale, and Ogles. The pre-COVID spending levels was one of the key demands made by a faction of members in the House Freedom Caucus that had opposed a separate CR last week.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden continues to refuse to meet with House Republicans, even as they work to move the remaining appropriations bills.