The House of Representatives finally voted to avert a government shutdown Friday evening, just hours before government funding was set to expire, thanks to Democratic help and Republicans’ decision to exclude Donald Trump’s demand to extend the debt ceiling.
The bill to continue funding for the government passed with 366 votes in favor and 34 votes against, with every single “no” vote coming from a Republican.
This most recent vote comes one day after a whopping 38 Republicans joined 197 Democrats in voting against an abbreviated continuing resolution, endorsed by both Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
That bill had nixed several key provisions from the original, including ones to fund research into pediatric cancer, premature labor, and Down syndrome; to treat sickle-cell anemia and early cancer detection; and criminalize deepfake pornography.
The original 1,547-page bipartisan bill was scrapped Wednesday, after Musk railed against it on social media and Trump demanded that Republicans find a way to lift the debt ceiling, sending an embattled House Speaker Mike Johnson scrambling to come up with a new version of the legislation.
The massive bill underwent several stages on Friday, having been split up into three component parts for lawmakers to vote on separately: a three-month continuing resolution, a bill funding disaster relief, and a bill to grant $10 billion in relief for farmers and extend the farmer’s bill, while Trump’s request to raise the debt ceiling was nowhere to be found.
In the end, lawmakers voted on one single package, which would fund the government through March 14, provide roughly $100 billion for disaster aid, and extend the federal programs supporting farmers, providing $30 billion in economic relief.
