The Republican-led House of Representatives narrowly avoided a government shutdown by passing a continuing resolution (CR) on Friday night. The bill passed with a vote of 366-34, with all of the opposing votes coming from Republicans. Democrats voted in full support of the stopgap measure, which will now head to the Democrat-controlled Senate and then to President Joe Biden for approval.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) described the bill as a necessary step to bridge the gap and allow for final decisions on spending for 2025. The spending bill includes $10 billion in funding for disaster relief and additional funds for farm aid. However, it does not include a debt limit increase, which was a demand of President-elect Donald Trump. Instead, Republicans agreed to increase the borrowing limit by $1.5 trillion in exchange for a $2.5 trillion spending cut in the next Congress.
The bill received approval from Trump ally Elon Musk, who praised Speaker Johnson for revising the bill to be more concise and effective. The first proposed spending package faced backlash from Trump and Musk earlier in the week, leading to the revised bill that ultimately passed in the House.
Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD) announced that the Senate will take up the CR before the midnight deadline, ensuring that the government remains funded and operational. Overall, the passage of the CR represents a bipartisan effort to prevent a government shutdown and address key funding priorities without the inclusion of a debt ceiling increase.