WASHINGTON, D.C. Congress narrowly avoided a government shutdown over the weekend after passing a last-minute funding resolution.
On Friday night, 196 Democrats and 170 Republicans voted to pass a spending bill that keeps the government running and avoids a shutdown. The Senate approved the bill just after midnight on Saturday.
This new bill will fund the government until March 14, 2025. It includes $100 billion for disaster relief as well as $30 billion to support farmers. Additionally, the Farm Bill received a one-year extension. The Farm Bill supports national agriculture by providing financial assistance and nutrition programs to families in need, as well as supporting conservation efforts.
The spending bill came after a week of rough negotiations. An earlier bipartisan deal fell apart when President-elect Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk got involved. House Speaker Mike Johnson introduced a 1500-page behemoth of a continuing resolution, which was met with immediate skepticism due to its length and complexity. Moreover, Trump was pushing lawmakers to raise the national debt ceiling, a request Senator Shelley Moore Capito said came essentially at the eleventh hour. On MetroNews’ “Talkline” last week, she said the debt ceiling was a battle the President-elect didn’t want to have to address during his administration.
“The president also wanted to have the debt limit because that’s a vote he absolutely can’t stand, a debate he can’t stand. He wanted to have that lifted. He didn’t make that request until very late, which I wish we’d gotten that earlier,” Capito said.
House Speaker Johnson’s proposal was also publicly criticized by Elon Musk, who took to his social media platform “X” to urge that the bill not pass and suggest that any Republican who supported the bill deserved to be ousted in the next primary.
Johnson had a hard time getting support for the bill. After two failed attempts, House Republicans finally reached an agreement just hours before the deadline. Speaking to reporters Johnson stressed the importance of moving forward to avoid a shutdown and to meet commitments to farmers and disaster victims.
“We had a record hurricane season. Hurricanes Helene and Milton in particular did dramatic damage across at least six states: the Carolina's, Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, all the way through. And, they have been waiting for the government to assist – we did that tonight in this bill. We also took care of our farmers, many of whom are on the brink of collapse – because of Bidenomics, frankly – because of the inflationary costs of their input and the inability they have right now to get a loan from the banks and the lenders to put their crops in the ground.”
He characterized the bill’s passage as a necessary step to keep the government operating until the Trump administration takes office in January, at which point Republicans will have control of both the Senate and the House.
The new 118-page bill keeps most of the provisions from an earlier agreement made on Wednesday. Notably, it does not include the controversial debt ceiling increase pushed for by President-elect Trump.
Democratic leaders, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, showed support for the bill. They acknowledged it wasn’t perfect but saw it as a step in the right direction. The removal of the debt limit increase was considered a win by Democrats.
The Senate passed the bill with cooperation from both parties. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer expressed confidence in its success. The White House announced that President Biden would sign the funding bill on Saturday.