An unlikely source of aid for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.)—who is facing a motion from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to oust him after bringing the government funding package to a floor vote—might come from House Democrats.
After all House Democrats voted with a gang of eight Republicans led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in October 2023, several House Democrats are signaling they would save Mr. Johnson from a similar fate.
“It’s absurd he’s being kicked out for doing the right thing, keeping the government open. It has two-thirds support of the Congress, and the idea that he would be kicked out by these jokers is absurd,” Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) told CNN on March 22.
In an announcement that could reshape the direction of fiscal policy and spending priorities in the United States Congress, Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) has formally requested the Republican Steering Committee and Conference to select a new Chair for the House Appropriations Committee.
This decision comes after Ms. Granger’s tenure as the leading Republican on the committee since 2019, a powerful role in Congress where she has played a pivotal role in the allocation of federal spending across various sectors.
Republicans are going to see their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives narrow even further, as Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) is departing Congress soon.
Mr. Gallagher, 40, the chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, became the latest Republican to announce an early retirement, saying on March 22 that he will leave the lower chamber on April 19.
Mr. Gallagher did not cite a reason for the decision, which he said came after conversations with his family. A phone call to his Washington office went straight to voicemail.
The House passed a $1.2 trillion bill on March 22, averting a deadline to fully fund 70 percent of the government.
Republicans are railing against the $1.2 trillion spending package to fund the government for the remainder of the fiscal year after it passed through the House on March 22.
The bill passed 286–134, with 112 Republicans and 23 Democrats against it and another 101 Republicans voting for it.
GOP support for the bill drew ire from Republicans in both the House and Senate within minutes of the House passing the funding package.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has formally moved to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) from his leadership role in frustration over a $1.2 trillion spending package Congress is working to pass today to avoid a shutdown.
Ms. Greene filed the motion to vacate on Friday, March 22, as members of the House voted to fund the remaining 70 percent of the federal government through the rest of the fiscal year.
The funding package, comprising six appropriations bills, was introduced in the wee hours of March 21—just one day ahead of the deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown. Despite fierce opposition from most of the GOP conference, the measure passed under a suspension of the rules in a 286–134 vote.
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Senate in the early hours of March 23 passed a $1.2 trillion omnibus spending package that was approved by the House on Friday.
The Senate cleared the bill in a 74–24 vote. It will now go to President Joe Biden, who’s expected to sign it.
The passage came as the government had technically gone into a partial shutdown, though a short-lived one lasting only two hours.
In the wee hours of March 21, the text of the second appropriations bill—totaling $1.2 trillion—to fund most of the U.S. government was unveiled.
The second tranche of spending legislation covers 70 percent of the federal government. This includes the Defense, Treasury, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), Education, and State departments.
If Congress does not pass the bill by March 23, a partial government shutdown will occur.
Conservative Republicans didn’t hold back on March 21 over the $1.2 trillion spending bill that would fund 70 percent of the government—as the clock ticked toward a partial government shutdown on March 23.
The bill, the text of which was unveiled in the early morning hours of March 21—less than 48 hours before a shutdown was set to begin—immediately reignited tensions in the Republican conference and concerns about House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) leadership of the lower chamber.
“They did make some cuts, but it’s not what I would like,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) told reporters in a gentle voice.