House lawmakers on Tuesday passed a temporary bill aimed at preventing a government shutdown before the midterm elections.
The short-term spending bill would ensure that the federal government remains open until December 4, after the September 30 funding deadline and the November 3 midterm elections.
The so-called continuing resolution won House approval in a 2020-205 vote.
Six Democrats — Reps. Kathy Castor (D-FL), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Don Davis (D-NC), Jared Golden (D-Maine), Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), and Gabe Vasquez (D-MI) — broke with Democratic leadership and voted with Republicans to pass the measure.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) was the only Republican to vote against the bill.
The measure now heads to the Senate, where Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-ND) is expected to put it up for a vote before senators take a month-long recess in August.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) criticized Democrats for voting against extending short-term funding, arguing that they view a potential government shutdown as politically expedient before crucial fall elections.
“Today, House Republicans took the responsible step of passing a clear, sustained short-term resolution to fund our government through the November election,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, as expected, 204 House Democrats voted against this measure.” Written on X.
He added: “Given that Democrats have already imposed the two longest government shutdowns in American history in this Congress, they clearly don’t care what kind of pain they inflict on the American people or the hundreds of thousands of federal workers who will have to work without pay.” “While there is still time until the end of the fiscal year, Republicans are under no illusions about the Democratic Party’s intentions ahead of the all-important midterm elections.
“They clearly believe that a painful government shutdown would help them politically. Hopefully they will come to their senses before the government shuts down, but if they don’t, Democrats alone will be responsible for the resulting chaos.”
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, indicated she opposed the continuing resolution because it would not carry over a provision agreed upon during the recent state funding battle that blocked funding for the Border Patrol.
The bill “does not continue that agreement, and gives the Trump administration permission to use the billions this bill provides to fund the Border Patrol without any substantive reforms to how that agency operates,” DeLauro said angrily, according to CBS News.
“It’s a clear line in the sand that Democrats drew months ago,” she added.