Mike Johnson leads House in passing a short-term funding bill to avoid a government shutdown before the midterm elections.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., led the House of Representatives in passing a continuing resolution on Tuesday to fund the federal government at current levels through Dec. 4. The bill passed with a 220-205 vote, as Republicans sought to eliminate the risk of a shutdown before the November midterm elections. The measure heads to the Senate, where it will require a 60-vote threshold for passage. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., stated he intends to bring a funding plan to the floor before the August recess, noting that he may use the reconciliation process to pass the bill on a party-line basis if a bipartisan agreement is not reached. While Republicans praised the bill as a clean extension, Democrats criticized the move as a premature attempt to avoid the work of negotiating a full-year budget. Democratic leaders argued the measure fails to block funding for the Trump administration's mass deportation efforts and grants the administration more control over the federal budget.