US House approves government funding bill with bipartisan support

Author: Editors Desk Source: Financial Times

November 14, 2023 at 19:22

Mike Johnson, centre, secured the role of Speaker of the House after his predecessor Kevin McCarthy was ousted by members of his own party © Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

New Republican Speaker Mike Johnson clinches a win in move to avert shutdown

The US House of Representatives has voted to avert a costly government shutdown, in a significant victory for the new Speaker that would keep the federal government funded until early next year while leaving billions of dollars of funding for Israel and Ukraine in limbo.

The House voted 336-95 on Tuesday evening in support of a plan from Republican Speaker Mike Johnson to keep government spending at current levels into 2024.

Of those who opposed the bill, 93 were Republicans and two were Democrats, while 209 Democrats and 127 Republicans voted in favour.

The bill is expected to pass the Democrat-controlled US Senate, before being sent to President Joe Biden for his signature ahead of a looming Friday deadline.

It does not include the billions of dollars in additional aid for Israel and Ukraine that the White House has requested. Johnson has said he will consider a “supplemental” funding bill to deal with the extra foreign aid for Israel, as well as money for Taiwan and increasing security on the US-Mexico border, in the coming weeks.

Earlier on Tuesday, Johnson insisted he was “not surrendering” by relying on Democratic votes to avert a shutdown.

“Getting us beyond the shutdown and making sure that government stays in operation is a matter of conscience for all of us, we owe that to the American people,” he told reporters. “When you have a small majority, it requires, some things are going to have to be bipartisan.”

The support of Democrats was critical for Johnson after the House Freedom Caucus, an ultra-conservative group of Republicans, made clear it was opposing his plan.

The Freedom Caucus issued a statement earlier on Tuesday saying it was against the short-term funding deal because it “contains no spending reductions, no border security, and not a single meaningful win for the American people”.

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