Americans could avoid a government shutdown before Christmas. President Biden signed into law a continuing resolution spending bill to fund the federal government through March 14th. The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 85-11 around 12:30 a.m. Saturday.
controversial bill
The passing of the continuing resolution was not without controversy. The House originally rejected House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-Louisiana) spending bill Thursday by a vote of 174-235. The bill was heavily criticized for its content and lack of spending cuts. The vote highlights how various Republican lawmakers plan to manage federal funds. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), one of 38 Republicans who voted against the bill, said in a post on X:
My position is simple. We have no intention of raising or suspending the debt ceiling (adding more debt) unless it involves significant real spending cuts. We have been negotiating for that. very sorry. CC: @realDonaldTrump @SpeakerJohnson @SenJohnThune @freedomcaucus
After the vote, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) suggested voting on each item in the CR separately, and while Johnson initially agreed with Massie's proposal, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries After meeting with (DN.Y), we changed our strategy and secured the deal. In a post about X, Massey said, the Democratic Party has enough votes.
This was actually true at the time you tweeted, but Speaker Johnson spoke with Hakeem Jeffries after the meeting and realized he could get Democratic votes to pass all the bills as one bill, and decided to overturned.
Mr Johnson criticized
Mr. Johnson has repeatedly relied on Democratic votes to pass spending bills, a strategy that has drawn criticism from a significant number of Republicans, who have criticized his chairmanship. The dependence on Democratic support has led to speculation among some Republicans that Mr. Johnson may not remain speaker when the 119th Congress opens in January 2025.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) spoke with Fox News' Jesse Watters yesterday, blaming the CR situation on “the law firm of Schumer, McConnell, Johnson & Jeffries,” and calling for Mr. Johnson to become chairman. He said he did not believe he would stay. :
Someone is going to lose their job over this, I don't think the Speaker will stay in power, that's my prediction, I'm not home. If I'm right, and I think I am. We need bold new leadership, external leadership. And I think it needs to be the DOGE speaker, it needs to be either Vivek Ramaswamy or Elon Musk.
bigger government
Nevertheless, the House passed the bill on a 366-34 vote Friday night, sending it to the Senate in hopes of a vote before midnight to avoid a shutdown. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, who received the bill, reassured Americans that the federal government would not be shut down.
Tonight, the Senate has some good news for America. There will be no government shutdown right before Christmas…. This is a good bill and will keep the government open. And we help Americans affected by hurricanes and natural disasters, help farmers, and avoid harmful logging.
The Office of Management and Budget said early Saturday that it has “high confidence that Congress will soon pass related appropriations and that the President will sign the bill on Saturday.” To no one's surprise, Biden signed a bill called the American Rescue Act. According to a White House press release:
HR 10545, the “American Remedies Act of 2025.'' Provides fiscal year 2025 appropriations to federal agencies through March 14, 2025, for ongoing federal projects and activities. Provide disaster relief budget and financial assistance to farmers. Extends the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018. and extend some expiring privileges.
Of course, many pro-freedom Americans see this “bipartisan” cooperation as a continuation of the status quo, meant to continue providing billions of dollars to the federal government for several more months. From a constitutional perspective, it would have been better to allow a temporary shutdown if it meant eliminating unconstitutional and wasteful federal spending.
Now that President Biden has signed the spending bill, Americans can see it as a Christmas present from big government: more tax dollars wasted on unconstitutional programs.
