WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a government funding bill that would avert a Friday night shutdown if it clears the Senate by then.
The vote was another victory for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who once again overcame opposition from several Republican lawmakers who initially withheld support for the measure.
The bill passed by a vote of 217-213, with one Republican against and one Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), in support. It’s the first time in years Republicans have approved a government funding bill without needing substantial Democratic support, but the second time in two weeks Republicans united among themselves on a high-stakes House vote thanks to help from President Donald Trump.
The bill can’t pass the Senate, however, without support from at least eight Democrats, meaning either Democrats go along with the Republican legislation or risk being blamed for a partial government shutdown.
“If congressional Democrats refuse to support this [legislation], they will be responsible for every troop who misses a paycheck, for every flight delay from reduced staffing at TSA, for every negative consequence that comes from shutting down the government,” Johnson said Tuesday.
Johnson got his own party to support the resolution thanks to help from Trump and his threats to back primary opponents against disloyal Republicans.
“We have to remain UNITED — NO DISSENT — Fight for another day when the timing is right,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) was the only Republican who voted against the measure, complaining that it doesn’t make significant cuts to federal spending. Massie has opposed similar funding resolutions in the past and also voted against a budget resolution last week that starts the process for enacting major tax and spending cuts.
Trump used sweet talk on some members, such as Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.), who said he spoke to Trump and received assurances the president would support cutting spending in the future. “I am confident in his ability to lead our country out of the debt crisis that has plagued us for decades,” Steube said on X.
But Trump made a high-profile example out of Massie, threatening to back a challenger in a Republican primary against Massie next year.
“Thomas Massie is a GRANDSTANDER, and the Great People of Kentucky are going to be watching a very interesting Primary in the not too distant future!” Trump wrote Tuesday before the vote. In another post, Trump said he would “lead the charge” against Massie.
“POTUS is spending his day attacking me and Canada,” Massie said on X. “The difference is Canada will eventually cave.”
The threats didn’t sway Massie, who noted that he’s previously beaten MAGA primary opponents, but they might have helped the other Republican holdouts get to yes.
A half-dozen GOP lawmakers had said they hadn’t made up their minds as of Tuesday morning.
“I just don’t like the Pentagon always getting the largesse,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) told HuffPost, noting that the bill increased funding for the military even as it slightly pared back discretionary spending overall, which he said was a good thing.
Vice President JD Vance helped sweeten the deal by telling Republicans in a private meeting on Tuesday morning that the Trump administration would cut spending by itself with help from billionaire Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency. (Democrats opposed the legislation for largely the same reason.)
Republicans who backed the bill all along said it felt like a familiar routine to have a few holdouts on some vote or other ultimately cave under pressure from Trump.
“It’s Groundhog Day,” Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) told HuffPost, referring to the 1993 film in which a TV weatherman wakes up every morning on the same February day.
“I can’t tell the difference between statesmanship and showmanship sometimes,” Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) said.
Democrats decried the legislation’s relatively modest spending reductions as well as Republicans’ refusal to add language disallowing the Trump administration from hacking away at federal agencies.
“The House Republican spending bill is an attack on everyday Americans,” Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said. “It will cut health care, cut veterans benefits and cut nutritional assistance to children and families.”
The bill’s most dramatic cut might be to the Washington, D.C., city budget, which Republicans insisted on reverting to last year’s levels even though the city doesn’t run on federal funds. City leaders said the cut could result in layoffs to city personnel such as teachers and police officers.
Congress technically controls the city government, but lawmakers haven’t exerted their power over the city in such an aggressive way for a long time. The move seems at least partly motivated by a partisan dislike of the city’s local elected leaders, who are almost all Democrats.
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“I do think the authority of Washington, D.C., needs to be reined in a little bit,” Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas) told HuffPost. “Hopefully this will bring them to the table.”
