Averting government shutdown, Congress approves temporary funding through the holidays

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In a move to avert a government shutdown until after the holiday season, Congress granted its final approval on Wednesday night to a temporary government funding package. This package effectively postpones a confrontation over the federal budget until the new year.

The Senate worked late into the night to pass the bill with an 87-11 vote, swiftly sending it to President Joe Biden for his signature, just a day after it received overwhelming bipartisan support in the House. This funding measure offers a temporary solution into the next year, at which point the House and Senate will need to address and reconcile their substantial disparities in funding priorities.

In the short term, this legislation eliminates the looming threat of a government shutdown that would have occurred had funding expired.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer affirmed, “This year, there will be no government shutdown,” during a press conference following the bill’s passage.

The spending package maintains current government funding levels for approximately two more months while negotiations continue for a long-term funding package. It establishes two separate deadlines for the passage of full-year appropriations bills: January 19 for certain federal agencies and February 2 for others, creating two opportunities for a partial government shutdown if disagreements persist.

Republican Whip John Thune, the second-ranking Republican, expressed, “Everybody is really kind of ready to vote and fight another day,” earlier in the day.

However, it’s worth noting that the two-step approach was not universally favored in the Senate. Nevertheless, it garnered support from nearly all Democrats and ten Republicans due to its assurance of avoiding an immediate government shutdown. Senator Patty Murray, the Democratic Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, voted in favor of the bill but cautioned that it could increase the risk of a future shutdown.

This spending bill also does not include the White House’s request for nearly $106 billion in wartime aid for Israel and Ukraine, as well as humanitarian assistance for Palestinians and other supplemental funding requests. Lawmakers are expected to focus on addressing this request after the Thanksgiving holiday as they seek to negotiate a deal.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, who crafted the temporary funding plan, has pledged not to support any further stopgap funding measures, also known as continuing resolutions. He views the temporary funding bill as a prelude to a budgetary “fight” with the Senate next year.

The new House speaker, who identifies as one of the “arch-conservatives” in the House, is advocating for deeper spending cuts. He aimed to avoid a situation where lawmakers would be compelled to consider a massive government funding package just before the December holidays, a tactic that particularly agitates conservatives.

Nonetheless, Johnson faces opposition from other hardline conservatives who wanted to use the prospect of a government shutdown as leverage to demand substantial cuts and policy changes.

Many of these conservatives were among the 19 Republicans who defied Johnson, preventing the floor consideration of an appropriations bill that would have funded several government agencies. As a result of this vote, GOP leaders ended the week’s work early, sending lawmakers home for Thanksgiving, underscoring the intense internal disagreements among legislators.

The inability of House GOP leadership to present a unified front on funding legislation could potentially hinder negotiations on spending bills with the Senate. Republicans are advocating for Congress to handle government funding through 12 separate bills, as mandated by the budgetary process, but so far, House leadership has faced challenges in advancing these bills.

Upon their return in two weeks, Congress is expected to shift its focus to the Biden administration’s requests for funding related to Ukraine and Israel. Republican senators are calling for immigration and border legislation to be addressed alongside additional Ukraine aid. However, a bipartisan Senate group working on a potential compromise has struggled to find common ground on these issues.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has pledged that Republicans will continue to push for policy changes related to the U.S. border with Mexico, emphasizing the importance of addressing the crisis at the southern border. One idea circulating among Republicans involves directly linking Ukraine funding levels to reductions in illegal border crossings, highlighting the complexity of this longstanding issue in U.S. politics.

While most Senate Republicans support Ukraine funding, they stress the need to secure the U.S. border as well. The U.S. has already begun reducing some of the wartime aid packages sent to Ukraine due to dwindling available funds, which could have adverse effects on Ukraine’s ability to defend itself, according to National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.

Senator Michael Bennet voted against the funding package, citing its omission of aid for Ukraine. Schumer has indicated that the Senate will attempt to advance both the funding and border legislation in the coming weeks, but achieving a compromise will be crucial. He has called on House Speaker Johnson to continue working with Democrats in a bipartisan manner.

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