Congress Passes a Stopgap Spending Deal Averting a Government Shutdown

After a chaotic two years punctuated by an even more chaotic few days, the Senate and the House cleared a short term funding bill, narrowly averting a government shutdown.

The final passage of the bill was the last act of the 118th Congress and caps one of the messiest and unexpectedly difficult fiascos of Mike Johnson’s speakership. Johnson dramatically miscalculated the wrath he would incur from his own conference by negotiating with Democrats on a stopgap spending bill — as well as the wrath of Donald Trump and Elon Musk. That miscalculation could cost him the job when the new Congress convenes in January.

Johnson spent days promising a continuing resolution. And when he finally delivered a 1,547-page bill, many Republicans were incensed over the additional provisions that went beyond simply keeping the government’s lights on for three months. With an open revolt on his hands, Johnson pulled the bill from consideration.

The speaker then tried a scaled-down approach, but with a significant addition: a two-year suspension of the debt ceiling, a last-minute demand from Trump, who said he’d rather raise the debt limit under Joe Biden’s watch than his own. That version of a “deal,” which was never cleared with Democrats, went down in flames Thursday night, with 38 Republicans joining all but three Democrats to vote against the legislation.

With just hours to go before the funding deadline at midnight on Friday, Johnson tried two more gambits. The first was voting on individual elements of a continuing resolution, letting the House work its will and giving Johnson cover that he is simply following the majority. The strategy was short-lived, however, as Republicans expressed confusion and uneasiness with the plan and said Johnson should simply put forward the same bill Republicans voted on Thursday night minus the debt ceiling provisions.

Ultimately, that strategy worked, with Democrats dropping their opposition and four more Republicans voting for the revised bill, too.

The House passed the bill 366-34, with 170 Republicans and 196 Democrats voting yes, and 34 Republicans voting no. No Democrats voted against the legislation, though Rep. Jasmine Crockett voted present.

Johnson was able to beat the midnight deadline and the Senate passed the bill, 85-11, early Saturday morning, effectively averting a shutdown.

Still, the upheaval that Johnson caused within his conference is almost certain to last into next year.

Many conservatives are still upset over Johnson’s willingness to work with Democrats to load up a three-month CR with tens of billions in extra spending. Appropriators were upset at being in the position of another stopgap bill to begin with. And rank-and-file Republicans were upset over Johnson’s lack of communication.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis told reporters on Friday that there had been “zero communication from leadership” about the standoff. “Something should change before Jan. 3,” Malliotakis said.

Asked how frustrated she was with Johnson specifically, she had an ominous response. “How does it sound?” she said, tersely, as she walked away.

One GOP member told NOTUS that Republicans were upset that Johnson didn’t include a larger portion of the conference in negotiations and instead kept talks private between himself and his conservative detractors, ultimately rewarding them for bucking leadership and causing chaos.

Rep. Mike Lawler confronted Johnson about that dynamic during a closed-door conference meeting Friday, according to a member in the room.

“Leadership learned absolutely nothing from the 118th Congress,” a different House Republican told NOTUS.

Already, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie has vowed to vote against Johnson on Jan. 3, when the House will hold a speaker vote. And while he’s currently the only Republican who’s definitively spoken out, others — like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Rich McCormick — have sounded less than supportive.

On the first day of Congress, the GOP majority is set to be 219-215, meaning Johnson should only be able to lose one vote, if every lawmaker shows up for the floor election.

As has always been the case, Trump will factor prominently in the contest. And given his own frustration with Johnson — as well as his potential anger that a debt ceiling raise wasn’t included in this bill as he demanded — Trump may not jump to Johnson’s defense.

If that’s the case, the continuing resolution drama could be Johnson’s last. Or it could be just another chapter in the ongoing saga of Johnson’s fraught speakership.

On Friday, in addition to getting this bill over the line, Johnson also vowed to address the debt ceiling in a reconciliation bill next year, claiming Republicans would cut spending by $2.5 trillion in exchange for raising the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion.

If Republicans actually move forward with that plan, they could be setting themselves up for more disappointment, as they try to pass a Republican-only bill that slashes entitlement spending and raises a debt ceiling that many Republicans have vowed not to touch — even with spending cuts.

This story has been updated with the final passage of the funding bill.
—
Riley Rogerson and Reese Gorman are reporters at NOTUS.