House passes State Department spending bill just days ahead of government shutdown

The House managed to pass its annual State Department and Foreign Operations spending bill, overcoming a small faction of Republican lawmakers who opposed the legislation due to some provisions that allocated funds to go toward the war in Ukraine.

Lawmakers voted 216-212 in favor of the bill, narrowly overcoming the majority threshold needed to pass the House and be sent to the Senate for consideration. Its passage marks a small win for House GOP leaders who have pushed to pass spending legislation over the last month to give the lower chamber some sort of leverage to enter into negotiations with the Senate to end a looming government shutdown.

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Only two House Republicans opposed the bill: Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA).

The bill passed despite Ukraine funding emerging as a major red line for some conservative lawmakers such as Greene, who threatened GOP leadership that she would vote against spending legislation if it included aid for the war-torn country. The State Department appropriations bill includes a section that allocates funds toward the Countering Russian Influence Fund, which seeks to oppose Russian aggression in Ukraine.

Greene was the lone Republican lawmaker to vote against advancing the appropriations bill earlier this week because of the inclusion of Ukraine aid. The Georgia Republican also opposed advancing the annual defense spending bill for the same reason, noting both bills would be “dead on arrival” if the aid were not removed.

“I was the only Republican to vote no on the rule for the four appropriation bills because two out of the four have money for Ukraine,” Greene told the Washington Examiner ahead of the vote. “Both of those bills are dead on arrival because members have been pushing very hard. I’ve been telling them it’s going to be a Republican primary issue. Republican voters are so fed up with it.”

The annual spending bill is used to determine the budget for the State Department and its foreign operations. During committee meetings over the summer, House Republicans have sought to rein in federal spending through the appropriations legislation by agreeing to a topline of $52.5 billion for programs included under the bill, roughly a 12% cut ($7.2 billion) compared to last year’s levels and 24% below ($16.4 billion) what President Joe Biden requested in his budget proposal.

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The legislation allocates funds to agencies and programs aimed at strengthening national security and providing support to U.S. allies, particularly against the Chinese Communist Party.

The House will vote on three other appropriations bills Thursday night, including those for the Defense, Homeland, and Agriculture departments.