The Republican-backed measures will keep the government open for another seven weeks. But Democrats who are trying to reverse Medicaid and Obamacare cuts have vowed to oppose it.
Rep. Mike Johnson says Dems’ stance could lead to the closure on October 1st
House Speaker Mike Johnson says Democrats may force government shutdowns as the deadline is approaching October 1st.
WASHINGTON – The House of Representatives passed a short-term funding bill on September 19, hoping to move the country away from impending government shutdowns.
However, the financing extension is unlikely to succeed in the Senate, meaning the closure is still nearing.
The House has approved the measure primarily on party line 217-212, and there is little chance of it passing the Senate. There, the 60 vote threshold means Democrats need to support it.
But the leaders of both parties are digging into their position. Republicans want to keep government funding at its current level until just before Thanksgiving, but Democrats are using rare moments of political leverage to demand that GOP help to help Medicaid cuts and reverse cuts of Obamacare subsidies.
In a speech ahead of the vote, minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats united in “principle opposition.”
“Access to high quality, affordable healthcare is right, and Democrats are on the floor of the House of Representatives and are always establishing that right,” he said. “That’s why we vote.”
Rep. R-Oklahoma, one of the top budget negotiators in Congress, responded that more negotiations could take place on these topics. However, GOP does not believe that large-scale healthcare changes should be included in StopGap’s funding bill.
“All of a sudden there’s an unrelated demand for something that’s not related to the day-to-day operations of the government,” Cole said.
The Senate is expected to vote for the measure later that day. Government funding will end on September 30th.
Zachary Schermele is a council reporter for USA Today. You can contact him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @Zachschermele and follow Bluesky at @Zachschermele.bsky.social.
