U.S. House Passes $1.2 Trillion Bill, Hours Before Shutdown Deadline

(Bloomberg) -- The House passed a $1.2 trillion government funding bill hours before a midnight Friday partial government shutdown deadline, rebuffing conservatives’ demands for deep cuts to domestic spending.

In response, hardline Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia took the first steps toward ousting House Speaker Mike Johnson. It wasn’t immediately clear whether other Republicans would join her or even whether she would follow through on the threat by forcing a vote on his removal.

Read More: Republican Greene Threatens to Remove Johnson as House Speaker

The 286 to 134 House vote Friday sends the bill to the Senate, where leaders in both parties hope to hold a vote in time to avoid a funding lapse. If the Senate debate drags on past midnight, the White House budget office has some limited leeway to delay a shutdown order on Saturday. 

The funding package, negotiated by the White House and congressional leaders from both parties, increases defense appropriations by 3% while keeping overall domestic spending flat. Military troops get a 5.2% pay raise, and there are increases in child care, cancer research and primary school funding prioritized by Democrats. 

House Democrats overwhelmingly supported the measure while conservatives largely voted against it. More Republicans voted against the bill than for it, a higher level of GOP mutiny than on earlier spending bills.

Republicans had sought a 22% cut in domestic spending, new limits on abortion and restrictions on migration.

Read More: How Looming US Government Shutdowns Became Routine

Hardline conservatives bitterly denounced Johnson’s handling of negotiations on the spending package.

“It’s clear that the Democrats own the speaker’s gavel,” ultraconservative Andy Ogles, a Tennessee Republican, complained. 

Greene filed a “motion to vacate” against Johnson but did not activate it by speaking on the House floor. She could force a vote on the motion at any point the House is in session, grounding all other business to a halt. A rump group used the same tactic last year against Johnson’s predecessor, Kevin McCarthy.

Greene didn’t address in brief comments to reporters whether she had secured commitments of support from any other Republicans for a coup against Johnson. And several ultraconservatives said Friday morning they didn’t see significant sentiment to overthrow him as leader of a fractious party with an unwieldy razor-thin majority.

“The problem is you have to find someone else willing to do the job of speaker,” said South Carolina Republican Ralph Norman. 

The spending package funds three-quarters of federal agencies, including the Homeland Security Department, until the Sept. 30 end of the federal fiscal year. Congress already funded the other agencies for the remainder of the year.

Wrangling over Homeland Security provisions in the measure delayed release of the funding deal until after 2 am on Thursday. 

Democrats made concessions including accepting a ban on providing US funds to the UN aid agency operating in the Palestinian territories. Social conservatives won a prohibition on flying the LGBTQ Pride flag at embassies.

“We should never make the perfect the enemy of the good,” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said.

But Republicans were forced to accept earmarks for LGBTQ-related projects and $200 million in funds for a new FBI headquarters in Maryland. 

Senate conservatives could use procedural maneuvers to delay a vote and force a brief weekend government shutdown. But Senate Republican leaders, who back the bill, said they hope to avoid that.

(Updates with Greene ouster threat beginning with 2nd paragraph)

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