Congress votes to avert shutdown, setting up a chaotic fight over funding in December

Washington
CNN
—

Congress has embarked on a chaotic fight over year-end spending after both chambers voted Wednesday to avert a government shutdown.

The preliminary budget bill, which will fund the government through Dec. 20, will next be sent to President Joe Biden to sign into law. The Senate voted shortly after the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson leaned on Democrats to pass the bill despite Republican defections.

As the holiday season approaches, congressional leaders face a series of difficult decisions. The political landscape will change dramatically after the November election, and Congress will have to meet important deadlines not only on funding but on other key priorities. The outcome of the election will determine how strong or weak Johnson and other congressional politicians will be in the budget talks.

Throughout the funding fight, Johnson faced demands from his party as well as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who publicly called for a shutdown unless Republicans pushed through passage of a controversial anti-citizen voting bill known as the SAVE Act. Before the vote, Trump also pitched a tough funding strategy in last-minute private talks with some House Republicans that differed dramatically from the one Johnson ultimately pursued, according to two Republican sources familiar with the conversation.

Johnson had initially presented a funding bill to the House that included the SAVE Act, but it was rejected last week. The speaker then opted for “Plan B” – a funding bill without reconciliation provisions. Johnson had said he believed Trump understood that Republicans in the House did not have enough votes to pass the SAVE Act.

But before Wednesday's funding vote, Trump called several House Republicans, including two who voted against the original proposal on the floor last week, and reiterated his demand that ballot measures be added to the government funding proposal. Trump told one of the Republican lawmakers in a phone call Tuesday that he wanted the lawmaker to vote yes if the original plan – with the ballot measure – came up again, one of the Republican sources said.

Several Republicans have told Trump and his team that a shutdown would jeopardize their majority in the House of Representatives – and also Trump's ability to take power in the White House, according to several Republican lawmakers and senior advisers.

For Johnson, the latest spending episode is indicative of the Louisiana Republican's tireless struggle to keep his right wing from open rebellion while ensuring he can perform the basic functions of government, a key concern for his more moderate, vulnerable supporters in swing districts, especially just weeks before the election.

“A shutdown is bad governance and bad policy,” Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska told CNN about Johnson's call. “I think he's doing the right thing.”

On Wednesday, Johnson needed significant support from Democrats to overturn the no votes at his own Republican convention.

The vote in the House of Representatives was 341 to 82, with 132 Republicans and 209 Democrats voting in favor and 82 Republicans against. Although more Democrats than Republicans voted for the passage of the bill, Johnson was able to secure a majority of his members for the interim solution. The vote in the Senate was 78 to 18.

Johnson's reliance on Democratic votes has exposed him to renewed criticism from his right wing, though few Republicans expect the speaker to face immediate political consequences. GOP lawmakers say Johnson is expected to avoid the fate of his predecessor, former speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted by Republicans about a year ago after working with Democrats to avert a shutdown.

That's in part because of Johnson's existing relationships with his conference, which he's trying to maintain even as he pushes a bill unpopular in his conference. The day after Johnson's leadership team unveiled the plan, the speaker personally attended a meeting of the House Freedom Caucus to discuss his lack of other options to keep the government going, according to a person familiar with the matter.

However, it is unclear whether Johnson succeeded in persuading any of the arch-conservative Republicans – who normally oppose government funding laws – to change their position.

“It's the same old story over and over again,” said Republican Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and former chairman of the Freedom Caucus, who announced he would oppose the funding bill.

Still, he acknowledged that Johnson had no choice since Democrats control the Senate: “Nobody is excited about it. But there aren't many options.”

Johnson stressed on Monday that he was not worried about losing his hammer because of the financing offensive.

“We have to make difficult decisions in leadership. This is the last option available to us,” Johnson said. “None of us like this, but we cannot shut down the government 39 days before an election. That would be political malpractice.”

While the SAVE Act is not included in the administration's budget bill, it does include an additional $231 million for the U.S. Secret Service to help the agency protect the 2024 presidential candidates. This came after lawmakers called for more funding following two apparent assassination attempts against Trump.

The postponement of the funding deadline to the end of December raises questions about what strategy lawmakers will pursue to prevent a holiday shutdown.

Many lawmakers, especially conservatives, oppose the sweeping spending packages known as the omnibus program. But politicians in Congress could face pressure to either go down that path or pass another short-term extension.

At a meeting on Tuesday morning, Johnson promised his colleagues that he would not allow his conference to adopt the dreaded massive budget proposal at the end of the year. But even his closest colleagues say behind closed doors that there are no real alternatives if the narrowly divided Republicans in the House of Representatives cannot agree on a budget.

“In difficult times, we have to make difficult decisions. That's exactly what's happening here,” Johnson argued, vowing that he would “fight” to protect Republican priorities during the Republican term.

“We will not make a Christmas bus,” he said after the meeting. “Absolutely not, we will not do that.”

Johnson's fight over government funding will certainly play a major role in the fall Republican leadership race, which is expected to take place shortly after the November election.

As that internal contest approaches, Johnson's own surrogates are working to strengthen their relationships within House Republicans. Several Republicans highlighted the efforts of House Majority Leader Tom Emmer.

In recent days, for example, Emmer's team presented several Republicans in the House with personally engraved hockey sticks to thank them for their service. At least two Republican lawmakers said they received them shortly after voting against the interim budget, according to two Republican sources familiar with the matter.

“Hockey memorabilia is a long-standing tradition for Emmer and is intended to be a small token of appreciation for the members of the Republican team in the House of Representatives,” said a third person familiar with the campaign.

This story and headline have been updated due to further developments.

CNN's Ted Barrett, Annie Grayer and Morgan Rimmer contributed to this report.