The Republican-controlled House on Monday appeared ready to advance a bipartisan funding bill to avert a government shutdown ahead of Election Day. The measure, supported by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and bipartisan lawmakers after Johnson’s own six-month bill failed last week, will face a floor vote this week.
The stopgap — which would keep the government funded through Dec. 20 — is expected to hit the floor under suspension of the rules, a process that bypasses the need to pass a procedural rule, requires significant support from Democrats to reach the two-thirds support threshold needed for passage, and is abhorred by hard-line conservatives. The House Rules Committee convened Monday afternoon to consider a group of measures, including the stopgap, but later decided to drop the funding measure from the final bundle of bills.
“So we’ll bring it up under suspension, which is the way I thought we would to begin with,” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the ranking member on the House Rules Committee, said at the end of the hearing Monday.
“You will get your wish,” House Rules Committee Chair Michael Burgess (R-Texas) responded.
- The Hill: A hunger to be more aggressive and authoritative in the biggest policy fights in Congress is defining Reps. Ben Cline (R-Va.) and August Pfluger’s (R-Texas) race to lead the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative caucus in the House.
- The New York Times: Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.) gave part-time jobs to both his lover and his fiancée’s daughter, in possible violation of House ethics rules.
- Politico: “One pistol clip can change the balance of power”: Congress is wholly unprepared for a mass casualty event.
