House lawmakers on Tuesday passed a stopgap bill aimed at preventing a government shutdown before the midterm elections.
The short-term spending bill would ensure the federal government remains open through Dec. 4, well past the Sept. 30 funding deadline and the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
The so-called continuing resolution cleared the lower chamber in a 2020-205 vote.
Six Democrats – Reps. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), Don Davis (D-NC), Jared Golden (D-Maine), Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) – broke with Democratic leadership and voted with Republicans to pass the measure.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) was the only Republican to vote against the bill.
The measure now heads to the Senate, where Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is expected to put it up for a vote before senators take a month-long recess in August.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) blasted Democrats for voting against the short-term funding extension, arguing they view a potential government shutdown as politically favorable ahead of the crucial fall elections.
“House Republicans today took the responsible step of passing a clean, short-term continuing resolution to fund our government through the November elections. Sadly, and predictably, 204 House Democrats voted against this measure,” Johnson wrote on X.
“Given that Democrats have already forced the two longest government shutdowns in American history this Congress, it’s clear they don’t care what kind of pain they inflict on the American people or the hundreds of thousands of federal workers who would be forced to work without pay,” he added. “While time remains until the end of the fiscal year, Republicans are under no illusions about the Democrat Party’s intentions heading into a consequential midterm election.
“They apparently believe a painful government shutdown would help them politically. We hope they will come to their senses before the government shuts down, but if they don’t, then Democrats alone will own the chaos that results.”
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, noted that she opposed the continuing resolution because it would not carry over a provision agreed to during the last government funding battle that blocked funding for Border Patrol.
The bill “does not continue that agreement,” DeLauro fumed, according to CBS News, “giving the Trump administration permission to use billions provided by this bill to fund Border Patrol without any substantial reforms to how that agency operates.”
“It’s a clear line in the sand that Democrats have drawn for months,” she added.
