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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA), speaking alongside Republican leadership House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN), left, House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-MD), second from left, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), right, during a press conference at the United States Capitol on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.
Will Senate back House funding fix?
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives narrowly passed a stopgap funding bill, voting 217-213 to prevent a government shutdown and keep federal spending at current levels through Sept. 30.
Following its passage, Speaker Mike Johnson adjourned the House for a week, denying the Senate the option to amend the bill before Friday’s shutdown deadline.
The bill keeps spending largely unchanged from last year but boosts military funding by $6 billion. It also cuts over $1 billion from Washington’s budget for the rest of the fiscal year, raising concerns about funding city services. On a brighter note, it increases support for a nutrition program for women and children and bolsters air traffic control funding.
The only Republican to vote against it, Rep. Thomas Massie, of Kentucky, defied pressure from Donald Trump, who threatened to “lead the charge” against him in 2026. Massie opposed the measure for not cutting spending enough — a stance shared by many fiscal conservatives in the Senate.
Will the Senate pass it? Republican senators have signaled support, with former hardliners backing it to advance Trump’s — and the Department of Government Efficiency’s — policy agenda.
Democratic leaders, however, argue that it lets the White House impose deep spending cuts through DOGE without congressional oversight. Unlike full-budget bills, temporary extensions don’t dictate how federal funds are allocated. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are floating a six-week extension to craft a broader spending deal. The question between now and the Friday deadline is whether they will stand firm and risk a shutdown — a move many swing-state Democrats fear could backfire — or push the fight to fall.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., talks with reporters in Russell building after a senate vote on Wednesday, February 19, 2025.
Dems vs GOP: Who Blinks?
House Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to pass a budget bill with only Republican support on Wednesday, sending Senate Democrats an imminent predicament: Either approve a spending bill created solely by the GOP or trigger a shutdown standoff – a strategy they have consistently criticized in the past.
Republicans need at least eight Democratic votes, assuming no additional GOP lawmakers join Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has committed to voting against the bill.
Democrats in the House have vowed to oppose the bill unless it includes language mandating that the Trump administration can’t cut the funds they allocate, and favor their alternative bill extending funding at current levels for four weeks instead – giving lawmakers time to craft a bipartisan funding package. However, a few Dems in the Senate may be willing to side with Republicans. Democratic Sen. John Fetterman,for example, has already committed to backing the bill.
The bill would extend government funding at current levels for seven months while adding $6 billion for defense funding and cutting $13 billion from nondefense spending. While that means some nondefense programs will be cut, it’s not expected to touch Medicaid or Social Security, or to be used as a means for Congress to hop on the DOGE train and start drastically downsizing the government. Those larger budget battles aren’t likely until the fall, when Congress needs to set a budget for next year.
US House Speaker Mike Johnson is speaking about the DHS deal and the plan to avert a shutdown during a press conference in Washington DC, USA, on March 20, 2024.
Hard Numbers: US government shutdown averted, Nigerian schoolkids rescued, Israel’s hospital raid proves deadly, Search for Mexican kidnap victims continues
1.2 trillion: The Senate passed the $1.2 trillion spending bill on Saturday in a 74-24 vote, enabling President Joe Biden to sign it into law and avert a partial government shutdown. This will keep the lights on for roughly three-quarters of the federal government until October, raising military pay and increasing funds for US-Mexico border patrol.
137: Nigerian authorities on Sunday rescued 137 schoolkids who were kidnapped two weeks ago in the northern state of Kaduna, with 76 girls and 61 boys found in the neighboring Zamfara state. Earlier reports suggested that 287 children had been kidnapped, but that number was an estimate, and authorities say all of the kidnap victims have been found and will soon return home.
170: Israel says its raid on Gaza’s largest health facility, Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital, has killed 170 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants, with more than 800 detained. Israeli special forces and tanks encircled the hospital early last week, forcing thousands of Palestinians who had been sheltering there to evacuate. On Sunday, Israel reportedly surrounded two more hospitals in Gaza.
42: After 66 people were kidnapped Friday in the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa – home to the infamous Sinaloa Cartel – authorities have worked over the weekend to rescue 42 of the hostages, including 18 children. The search continues for the remaining 24.