The Home handed laws on Tuesday to fund the federal government via Sept. 30 and avert a shutdown on the finish of the week, in a party-line vote that mirrored how Republican fiscal hawks have swallowed their issues about spending in deference to President Trump.
The transfer despatched the measure to the Senate, the place Democrats are dealing with a political dilemma over whether or not to help it and hand Mr. Trump huge leeway to proceed his assault on federal applications and staff, or oppose it and threat being blamed for a authorities shutdown.
The invoice would preserve final yr’s spending ranges largely flat, however would improve spending for the army by $6 billion. It could barely lower spending total, as a result of it could not embody funds for any initiatives in lawmakers’ districts or states. And it could pressure a reduce of greater than $1 billion from the District of Columbia’s finances for the remainder of the fiscal yr.
The vote was 217 to 213, with just one Republican, Consultant Thomas Massie of Kentucky, voting in opposition to the laws. One Democrat, Consultant Jared Golden of Maine, voted sure.
G.O.P. lawmakers supporting it and Democrats opposing it gave the identical cause: They argued that the stopgap invoice gave Mr. Trump latitude to proceed his marketing campaign to dismantle and defund main items of the federal authorities via Elon Musk’s Division of Authorities Effectivity, or DOGE.
Within the Senate, Republicans would want the help of a number of Democrats to push the measure previous a filibuster and permit it to go and get to Mr. Trump’s desk earlier than the March 14 midnight deadline to increase federal spending. Senate Democrats have extensively criticized the measure, however some, particularly these from swing states, haven’t dominated out in the end voting for it.
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