Dramatic, the Republicans of the House of Representatives approved a bill to finance the government until the end of September 2025, a great victory for President Mike Johnson, who has previously depended on the Democrats for bipartisan support to avoid a closure.
The Chamber voted 217-213 to approve the bill of expenses, known as a continuous resolution, days before some funds are exhausted. Now he goes to the Senate, where he requires 60 votes to approve and his destiny is uncertain.
As expected, Kentucky’s republican representative, Thomas Massie, did not vote, despite the pressure of President Donald Trump in the form of a primary threat.
To approve the measure on Tuesday afternoon, Johnson trusted some republican support for Republicans who had never voted in favor of a continuous resolution.
The representative Jared Golden was the only Democrat who voted with the Republicans. All other Democrats voted against the measure, providing the position of the Senate Democrats.
“This CR is not perfect, but a closure would be worse. Even a brief closure would introduce even more chaos and uncertainty at a time when our country can attack it,” Golden published in X.
He also criticized the Democrats for using what he called “messaging tricks” about the bill.
The bill finances the Government at the current levels until September 30, 2025.
The president of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, speaks during a press conference before a possible budget vote in the United States Capitol in Washington, on March 11, 2025.
Nathan Howard/Reuters
The expense bill was an important evidence for Johnson. In the absence of democratic support, Johnson could only afford to lose a republican vote before a second dropout kill the bill.
In a statement after the vote, Johnson said the Republicans “defended the American people” and criticized the Democrats who, according to him, “decided to duplicate partisan policy.”
Johnson had crucial allies in Trump and vice president JD Vance, who pressed the Republicans of the House of Representatives to underpin the support before the vote.
In the last hours before Tuesday’s vote, Trump worked the phones, reaching the Republicans of the House of Representatives who remained undecided.
On Tuesday morning, Vance attended a meeting of the Conference of the House of Domains where he urged the Republicans of the House of Representatives to be on board with the vote and emphasized the importance of not closing the government, members told ABC News.
The earliest Tuesday, Johnson projected the confidence that Republicans could obtain the bill in the finish line, even when the Democrats remained united in opposition.
“No, we will have the votes. We are going to approve the CR,” Johnson said at the Leadership Press Conference of the Republican Party. “We could do it on our own.”
The 99 pages bill generally decreases in the financing levels last year, but increases the army spending by approximately $ 6 billion.
While there are an additional $ 6 billion for the medical care of veterans, non -defensive spending is approximately $ 13 billion lower than fiscal year 2024.
The legislation neglects emergency funds for disasters, but provides an impulse in the financing of immigration deportation and customs deportation operations.
It also increases financing for WIC by approximately $ 500 million, a program that provides free groceries to low -income women and children.
Now that the Chamber has sent its bill to the Senate, it is not yet clear how it will go, since it will require significant bipartisan support to pass the upper chamber.
Government financing is scheduled for the end of the day on Friday, March 14.
