House and Senate Pass Last-Minute Bill to Avoid Government Shutdown

By Erik Wasson, Jonathan Tamari and Maeve Sheehey.
Bloomberg News (via TNS).

The Senate overwhelmingly passed bipartisan legislation Saturday to avoid a disruptive U.S. government shutdown, sending the bill to President Joe Biden for his expected signature just hours before a midnight deadline.

The bill passed on an 88-9 vote.

“After trying to take our government hostage, MAGA Republicans won nothing,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said after the vote.

The legislation will keep the U.S. government open through Nov. 17 and include $16 billion in disaster relief funding but not aid for Ukraine. Lawmakers in both parties who support the Ukraine funding said that would be handled separately.

The House passed the legislation earlier Saturday, overcoming objections from Republican hardliners.

The vote was 335-91, with 209 Democrats voting with 126 Republicans to support the measure.

The proposal from Speaker Kevin McCarthy would keep the U.S. government open until Nov. 17 and includes $16 billion in disaster funding — but not aid for Ukraine. Lawmakers in both parties who support the Ukraine funding said that could be handled separately.

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the House-passed bill would keep the government open at higher levels than the Senate’s version, noting it includes disaster relief and authorization for the Federal Aviation Administration, which expires Oct. 1.

The Biden administration, the official said, expects Ukraine aid to be handled in a separate bill.

The Senate bill with funding for Ukraine had strong bipartisan support before the latest House maneuver. But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, one of the strongest advocates for Kyiv, said Republicans there would block a vote on their bill to let the House do its work. McCarthy has told Republicans that Ukraine can withstand 45 days without new U.S. aid.

Ukraine aid

Supporters of Ukraine aid in the Senate are looking for a new path after McCarthy’s move.

“Every day that goes by without this aid Russia gets closer to being capable to winning this war,” said Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut.

Democratic New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen told reporters the upper chamber would work on a Ukraine supplemental aid package in the coming weeks.

“They must have uninterrupted aid and uninterrupted help,” Democrat Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said. “No one is backing down on Ukraine in our caucus.”

Hard-liner mutiny

McCarthy defied hard-liners in his own party with his proposal, which the speaker’s allies rushed to fast-track using a procedure that relied heavily on Democratic votes.

The bill threatens to provoke hard-liner Matt Gaetz, McCarthy’s most ardent detractor, to move to oust the speaker. The House adjourned until Monday, preventing Gaetz from offering a so-called motion to vacate immediately after the bill.

“If somebody wants to remove me because I want to be the adult in the room, go ahead and try,” McCarthy told reporters earlier Saturday.

The measure doesn’t include ultra-conservatives’ demands for deep spending cuts and border policies anathema to Democrats.

“I want to keep government open while we finish our job to secure the border,” McCarthy told reporters after a closed-door GOP meeting that lasted an hour and a half.

North Carolina Rep. Greg Murphy emerged from the meeting saying some Republicans have a “pathological” dislike of McCarthy.

“They’re not willing to put that aside and do what’s best for the country,” Murphy said of the hard-liners. “It’s pretty selfish, to be honest.”

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(With assistance from Billy House, Steven T. Dennis and Akayla Gardner.)

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