March 11 (UPI) — The House of Representatives passed a spending bill Tuesday to fund the government through the end of September and avert a government shutdown at the end of the week. The bill now heads to the Senate.
The House vote on the continuing resolution was 217 to 213, mostly along party lines with Republicans backing the stopgap measure. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., was the lone Republican who voted against the bill, while Democratic Rep. Jared Golden of Maine voted for it.
The 99-page bill boosts spending for defense programs by approximately $6 billion and cuts non-defense spending by $13 billion to fund the government through Sept. 30. Current funding was set to expire Friday before midnight.
“Big win for Republicans, and America, tonight,” President Donald Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “Congratulations to all!”
“This was a big vote on the House floor, the Republicans stood together and we had one Democrat vote with us to do the right thing, and that is to fund the government,” House speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters after the vote, as Rep. Golden explained why he broke ranks with fellow Democrats.
“I just voted to pass a Continuing Resolution and avoid a government shutdown,” Democratic Rep. Golden wrote in a post on X.
“The CR is not perfect, but a shutdown would be worse. Even a brief shutdown would introduce even more chaos and uncertainty at a time when our country can ill-afford it,” Golden added. “Funding the government is our most basic obligation as members of Congress.”
Rep. Massie, the only Republican to vote against the bill, called Tuesday’s vote a “fake fight” in the House as he claimed House Speaker Johnson “already cut a deal with the Senate Democrats.”
“We’re going to vote on this thing and skip town,” Massie said before the vote. He predicted the bill would pass in the Senate, saying it does not cut spending enough.
“We should also lock in the DOGE cuts. Why are we going to fund all of the waste, fraud and abuse that DOGE found?” Massie asked, as he referenced the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency.
Democrats blasted the six-month spending bill, which also increases funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation operations and W.I.C. to provide free groceries to low-income women and children.
“The House Republican spending bill is an attack on everyday Americans,” House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said after the vote. “It will cut health care, cut veteran benefits and cut nutritional assistance to children and families.”
“It is unacceptable, and that is why there was a strong showing of opposition amongst House Democrats,” Jeffries added.
The House voted last week to advance the GOP’s budget plan, along with Trump’s priorities on the border and defense, to move toward a compromise deal.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where it will require 60 votes to pass.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., “is the leader of the Democrats on that side and he must determine whether he wants to fund the government and do the responsible thing or he wants to shut the government down,” Johnson told reporters Tuesday.
“I certainly hope that there are enough Democrats in the Senate who have a conscience, who will do the right thing by the American people and take care of business over there.”