Senate Passes Bill Averting Shutdown, Sends to House for Imminent Vote

The Senate advanced another short-term spending bill Thursday afternoon.

The continuing resolution (CR) passed 77-18 over objections from conservatives, including Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who insisted on a vote to amend the bill, which failed.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) immediately moved to set up an afternoon vote in the House. Passage would extend funding levels and priorities originally set by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in December 2022.

The @HouseGOP is about to join the @SenateGOP to continue – AGAIN – to fund the federal govt at Pelosi’s spending levels, & continue to fund all manners of horrible abuse of power & polices from open borders & gun control to the UN and the WHO. All GOP should oppose.

— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) January 18, 2024

Even some Democrats voiced concerns with Congress’s inability to perform its most basic duty of passing timely appropriations bills, although they voted in favor of the extension.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), who voted for the CR despite his frustration, said the House should pass the bill and “then [get] to work on actual bipartisan government funding bills.”

I’m glad the Senate stepped up to avoid a catastrophic shutdown at the last minute, but it’s time to stop this stupid brinkmanship and pass real spending bills.

I hope the House acts quickly to pass this CR… and then gets to work on actual bipartisan government funding bills.

— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) January 18, 2024

In the House, Speaker Johnson resisted a last-minute push from conservatives to spurn the Senate CR and instead advance its own bill that includes border security measures, opting to postpone that battle.

Johnson’s strategy has drawn ire even among those who generally vote with the Speaker.

“We’ve waited long enough, we’ve kicked the can long enough, and we’ve ‘held out for a bipartisan solution’ long enough,” tweeted Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI), pledging to oppose any CR without border security included.

If we don’t secure our borders, we won’t have a Nation to fund.

Until Congress gets serious about securing the border – I will not support another dime of federal spending. /1

— Rep. Jack Bergman (@RepJackBergman) January 18, 2024

The Senate CR extends government funding until March, setting up yet another shutdown showdown.

Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.