WASHINGTON – House Republicans approved a suspension spending bill Tuesday that will keep government funds in place, but the legislation must pass the Senate before the late-night deadline on Friday to avoid government shutdowns.
217-213 House Voting Although mostly along the party line, Democrats are opposed to the measure that they say they want to work instead towards an agreement on a year-round government fundraising bill. Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massey was the only GOP lawmaker to vote against the recognition, while Maine Rep. Jared Golden was the only Democrat to support the recognition.
President Donald Trump and other members of the Trump administration have sought to shake up Massey in support of the spending bill by encouraging Republicans to challenge Massey in the 2026 primary election.
Massy rejected the pressure on social media, writing that he “members prefer transparency and principles over blind loyalty.”
“Potus is spending his day attacking me and Canada,” Massie wrote in another post, referring to Trump. The threat of raising tariffs in Canada. “The difference is that Canada will eventually become a cave.”
The Senate passage calls for some Democrats to join Republicans with 60 votes to limit discussion. Republicans currently have 53 seats.
House Republicans announced hours before the vote that the Chamber of Commerce would depart for a 12-day break on Tuesday, not Wednesday.
The schedule changes will prevent the Senate from modifying the suspension spending bill in any way. The house will not return until Monday, March 24th.
During the closure, exempt employees are generally considered essential to preserve their lives or property and will continue to work as normal. Federal workers who are not exempt are not considered essential and are sent home until Congress approves the funding bill. Members of the military are considered exempt.
Neither group of federal employees receives pay until the shutdown ends until they receive their pay.
The closure has historically no impact on the management of compulsory programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
Thune feels “very comfortable”
Senate majority leader John Tune, Rs.D. said he “hopees” that Democrats will vote to limit debate over the Stop Expense Bill.
“We feel very comfortable putting a majority vote on this,” Thune said. “The problem is that you can get the 60 votes super majority threshold you need to pass it on. You need Democrats to do that.”
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., said that Democrats at the Chamber of Commerce “wait to see what the house will do first” before deciding whether to support or oppose the bill.
Although Congress last relied on a year-round resolution in 2013, lawmakers also passed the Agriculture FDA, the Department of Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security and the Military Construction-VA appropriations that year.
Lawmakers also relied on year-round stops in 2011, but also passed year-round defense claims.
Better than shutdown, Cole says
House Budget Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla, said during a floor discussion that another suspension spending bill was “not what I wanted, and is significantly better than the alternative at the end of the day – government shutdown.”
“Despite our best efforts, we were unable to reach a final agreement on the year-round spending bill,” Cole said. “We were very close to the final dollar figures, but my colleague, in the minority, made additional requests to limit the legitimate authority of executives in the spending process.
“These are restrictions that minorities will never accept a Democratic president, nor are they provisions that President Trump should or should sign the law.”
Connecticut Democrat Rosa Delauro, a ranking member of the Expense Committee, said he hopes for provisions added to the bill to ensure that the Trump administration must use financial funds as directed.
“This bill will create more flexibility for this administration to continue to undermine the constitution and countless spending laws by stealing promised investments from American families, children and businesses,” Delauro said.
She said she would allow the Trump administration to continue to dismantle agencies, fire civil servants and cancel union contracts.
“Read the Constitution – Articles 1, 9, 7 – The power of the wallet exists in Congress, not in the executives,” Delauro said. “And in fact, the President has no legitimate authority to interfere in the spending process.”
Congress must pass instead Democrats introduced suspension spending bill The government will be funded until April 11th, allowing both rooms to settle agreements on the year-round spending bill, Delauro said.
Third Continuous Resolution
The council was to pass Decades of Financing Bill Before the start of the current fiscal year on October 1st. However, as is typical of election years, lawmakers I used StopGap expenditure invoice Funding will be provided to the government until mid-December.
Usually that’s when the House and Senate finish negotiations on a final version of the 2025 budget bill. However, the GOP lawmakers who gained unified control of the government in November were I used another suspension expenditure invoice Move final decisions on full year invoices this year.
Speaker microphone Johnson, R-La. I said it in December Shortly after the House voted to approve a suspension spending bill that would help Republicans change the way things go.
“We’ll be making oceanic changes in Washington in January. President Trump will return to DC and the White House to take Republican control over the Senate and House. “This was a necessary step to fill the gap to get us into that moment, where we can put our fingerprints on our final decision on spending in 2025.”
Johnson finally decided to release it this weekend Third continuous resolution It would fund the federal government throughout the remainder of the fiscal year, instead of negotiating a year-round spending bill.
Last updated at 10:38am, March 12, 2025
