WASHINGTON: The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives on Tuesday (Mar 11) passed a stopgap Bill to keep federal agencies funded past Friday, averting a partial shutdown beginning this weekend even as President Donald Trump dramatically cuts the government.
The Bill passed in a nearly party-line 217-213 vote, with one Republican voting no and one Democrat yes.
The continuing resolution, which largely keeps the government funded at its current level through Sep 30, would need to be passed by the Republican-majority Senate and signed by Trump into law by Friday to avoid a shutdown.
Trump has been pressing Republicans to fall into line, and Vice President JD Vance urged them to stay unified at a closed-door meeting on Tuesday morning.
Hardline Republican lawmakers have traditionally opposed the stopgap measures, known as CRs, and Tuesday’s vote marked the first time several of them voted in support of one since the party assumed the majority in the chamber in January 2023.
Republican Representative Tim Burchett said he voted for the first time in favor of a CR because it will reduce federal spending.
“It’s the first time I’ve been here … that we’ve actually voted to decrease the size of government,” said the Tennessee lawmaker, who entered Congress in January 2019.
Burchett, who spent much of the day saying he was undecided, chose to back the measure after speaking to Trump, adding, “leadership’s never lied to me and Trump’s never lied to me”.
Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro criticised the measure. “It is not a simple stopgap that keeps the lights on and the doors open. This is Republican leadership handing over the keys of the government, and a blank check to Elon Musk and to President Trump,” she said.
One Republican, hardline Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, voted no and one Democrat, moderate Jared Golden of Maine, voted yes.
Senate Republicans will need at least seven Democrats to vote with them to prevent a lapse in funding, which could disrupt everything from financial oversight to scientific research and force hundreds of thousands of federal workers to go without pay.
Many of those workers have already been stressed by Trump’s blunt-force campaign to thin the ranks of the US civil service and slash spending.
Senate Democrats have voiced opposition to the Bill but also have a history of criticising government shutdowns as needless chaos that they say hurts their constituents. Several have said they would vote for the measure to avert a shutdown.
At least 100,000 of the government’s 2.3 million civilian workers have either been fired or taken a buyout so far, and Trump has effectively shuttered agencies that handle foreign aid and consumer protections. Trump’s administration has ordered a second round of layoffs as well, with plans due later this week.
Democrats say Trump’s downsizing effort runs roughshod over Congress’ authority over spending matters.
The Bill would extend government funding until the end of the fiscal year on Sep 30. Increases in defence, veterans’ care and border security would be offset by cuts to some domestic programs
