Congress passes short-term funding bill to avoid partial shutdown

The House and Senate both passed a stopgap bill on Thursday to avert a partial government shutdown at the end of the week.

The Senate vote was 77 to 13. Republican Sens. John Cornyn and John Thune, potential candidates to take over as Senate GOP leader after Mitch McConnell steps down from the position in November, both voted in favor.

Now, the bill is cleared for President Joe Biden’s signature. 

Why this matters: Congress is confronting a pair of shutdown deadlines on March 1 and March 8. This stopgap bill will shift the deadlines to March 8 and March 22 to give lawmakers more time to pass full-year appropriations bills.

This post has been updated with the vote.

The Senate floor as voting gets underway on Thursday, February 29.

The Senate is voting on a stopgap measure that will fund the government on a short-term basis — avoiding a partial shutdown at the end of this week.

The House passed the bill earlier Thursday. The bill buys lawmakers more time to pass full-year appropriations bills.

House Republicans expressed frustration Thursday after a short-term bill to fund the government ahead of a Friday deadline passed the House with the help of Democrats after House Speaker Mike Johnson cut a deal with the White House and Senate on government funding.

Rep. Chip Roy, a member of the House Freedom Caucus and a deficit hawk, criticized the Speaker over his handling of the issue and lamented that he believes something has to change in Washington. 

Rep. Nancy Mace, who was one of the eight lawmakers who voted to strip former Speaker Kevin McCarthy of the gavel, defended her vote even after Johnson reached a deal not too different from what ultimately led to the former Speaker’s ouster.

When pressed by CNN on what policy wins she believes they have achieved following McCarthy’s ouster, she pointed to greater transparency from Johnson.

A man walks near the U.S. Capitol in Washington on February 27.

The House has voted to pass a stopgap bill that will extend government funding and avoid a partial shutdown.

The vote was 320 to 99, with 113 Republicans voting in favor and 97 Republicans voting against. The bill will fund the government until March 22 to give lawmakers more time to pass full-year appropriations bills.

Two Democrats voted “no” — Reps. Mike Quigley and Jake Auchincloss.

Now that the House has passed this bill, it will next go to the Senate. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he hoped it could pass his chamber as soon as this evening. 

The House is voting now to pass a stopgap bill that will extend government funding on a short-term basis and avert a partial shutdown at the end of the week.

Currently, Congress is confronting a pair of shutdown deadlines tomorrow and on March 8. This bill will shift the deadlines to March 8 and March 22 to give lawmakers more time to pass full-year appropriations bills. 

Once the House passes this bill, it will then go to the Senate. It’s not yet clear when the Senate will vote, but Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he hopes it could pass his chamber as soon as Thursday evening. 

On his way onto the House floor, House Speaker Mike Johnson told CNN this “should be” the final time they pass a short-term funding bill. 

Yesterday, the speaker defended the move as a “process CR,” or continuing resolution, after having previously vowed they were “done” with the short-term measures.

The vote is expected around 2 p.m. ET.

(L to R): U.S. Representatives Chip Roy (R-TX) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL).

In back-to-back fiery floor speeches, GOP Reps. Matt Gaetz and Chip Roy railed against House leadership for going ahead with the short-term continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown.

The lawmakers slammed Speaker Mike Johnson for continuing to spend money at the “Nancy Pelosi spending levels.” 

Gaetz urged his colleagues to reject the continuing resolution. 

Roy also lambasted leadership for “kicking the can once again” in his remarks.

US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson waits to speak during a news conference after a closed-door House Republican caucus meeting on Capitol Hill today.

House Speaker Mike Johnson defended his position in the spending fight against conservative critics, arguing that he is trying to turn the page but that it is time to move on and focus on the next fiscal year, which he plans to do quickly.

The funding bill is expected to be voted on in the House this afternoon, and then be transmitted over to the Senate. Johnson said Republicans “did have a say; they had a process” as the House worked on individual bills, but not all those bills could pass on the floor. 

“When it gets down to the final negotiation of the final revisions in each of them, that’s a smaller subset of members because it’s complicated and complex, but that bill text is going to be posted this weekend. All of our members will have 72 hours to review it. That’s our commitment. That’s our rule. We’re respecting it. And that’s the only reason we need the process CR (continuing resolution) to allow us time to do that. If I did it the way,” he said.

Johnson also insisted that he won’t back off his view that the border has to be more secure before he is willing to move on Ukraine aid, an issue that divides his conference and conservatives have warned could cost him his job if he moves on.   

GOP hardliners are pushing back against House Speaker Mike Johnson after he cut a spending deal with Senate leaders and the White House, lashing out at the speaker’s decision to backtrack after previously pledging he would not support any additional short-term stopgap measures. 

GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who will vote against the short-term stopgap bill, swiped at the speaker over cutting a deal with Democrats on government funding. 

GOP Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, who opposes the deal cut by the speaker, said it’s been “a tough six months.” And GOP Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, who was one of the eight Republicans who voted to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, said he opposed the one-week stop gap bill and broader funding deal but was sympathetic to Johnson’s circumstances.

When pressed by CNN on what policy gains they gained by ousting McCarthy, Burchett did not point to any but argued that they got increased transparency from leadership. 

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) talks to reporters as he returns to the U.S. Capitol following meetings at the White House on February 27.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he hopes the Senate will be able to pass the short-term funding extension tonight after the House advances the legislation this afternoon.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also indicated that Senate Republicans will help push through the short-term funding bill, saying he expects the upper chamber to “act swiftly” this week. 

The funding bill is expected to be voted on in the House this afternoon, and then be transmitted over to the Senate. With agreement from the 100 Senators, the chamber can take up the bill in an expedited process.

Remember: Congress is confronting a pair of shutdown deadlines – on March 1 and March 8. At the end of the day Friday, funding will expire for a series of key government agencies if lawmakers do not act.