House shoots down stopgap spending measure, making weekend shutdown more likely

The House shot down a stopgap spending measure that would temporarily fund the government for 31 days, leaving the lower chamber without a viable proposal to begin negotiations with the Senate less than 48 hours before federal funding is set to lapse.

Lawmakers voted 198-232 to advance the $1.471 trillion legislation, falling short of the majority vote needed to send the bill over to the Senate. The failure deals a major blow to GOP leadership, making it all the more likely Congress won’t come to an agreement on spending legislation just two days before the government is set to shut down.

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The measure failed after 21 Republicans joined all Democrats in opposing the measure, with several hard-line conservatives threatening for weeks they would vote against any temporary legislation and would only advance single-subject spending bills. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has been among the most vocal opponents, repeatedly warning House Speaker Kevin McCarthy he would seek to remove him as GOP leader if he advanced a stopgap measure.

In a surprise to leadership, several of those same lawmakers voted to advance the rule for the bill earlier in the day, which allowed them to begin debate and move toward final passage. However, several hard-line conservatives said they remained unconvinced on the legislation itself.

When asked by reporters why he advanced the rule, Gaetz said he did it “so he can vote against the CR.”

“I let the rule slide,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) said. “I’ll let them vote. People can vote on it up or down.”

The continuing resolution is the same one proposed by lawmakers last week, only it includes a fiscal commission to examine the nation’s debt, and the Department of Homeland Security is not affected by the spending cuts.

The resolution would cut spending down to $1.471 trillion over the next month, marking a more than 29% cut. The Department of Defense, Veteran Affairs, and DHS are unaffected by these cuts.

The legislation also includes H.R. 2, the House’s border security bill that passed earlier this year, but without E-Verify — something a number of rural Republicans were against. It would also create a fiscal commission to examine the nation’s debt.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) said the failed vote should signal to GOP leadership they must advance a bipartisan agreement in order to avert or end a government shutdown, noting a handful of Republicans are considering working with Democrats in order to do so.

“At the end of the day, we have got to get to 218 in the Congress. Not necessarily the [GOP] conference, but the Congress,” he said. “We have a number of us — hopefully we get some more — that are willing to discharge or take another option to ultimately get something that’s a two-party solution to the floor.”

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It’s not yet clear when the House will meet to reconsider another stopgap measure, but members have been advised that votes are likely over the weekend and that they should keep their schedules flexible. House Republicans are set to hold a conference meeting at 4 p.m. to discuss their next steps.

Meanwhile, the Senate is preparing to vote on a stopgap spending measure negotiated between Republicans and Democrats over the weekend that would include disaster funding and Ukrainian aid, a proposal that some Republicans say is “dead on arrival” in the House. Federal funding is set to lapse at midnight on Sunday.