Early Friday, the House gave its approval to another raft of spending proposals for the federal government that evidently will round out the funding process for the rest of the fiscal year… and although Republicans hold the majority in that legislative chamber, Democrats gave the package more votes, effectively putting it over the finish line.
It’s yet another instance — after earlier fights over government funding and the debt ceiling debacle — where Democrats have used their position as the chamber’s minority to nonetheless secure forward action. On Friday, a full 185 Democrats in the House voted for the latest funding package, while only 101 House Republicans backed it. Congressional reporter Jake Sherman quipped that House Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) “bails out [House Speaker] Johnson once again.”
The package provides funding to the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and State, alongside more. It provided the backdrop to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) unveiling a motion on Friday that would force Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) from his leadership role in the chamber, which would mark the second removal by Republicans of a Speaker from their party during this two-year period. Johnson himself took over only after a lengthy period of infighting among Republicans kicked off by a successful motion to boot the last Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican who since left Congress.
Some have predictably expressed frustration at the possibility of another leadership fight spurred by Greene’s move. Johnson, meanwhile, was supportive of the spending package ultimately approved by the House on Friday. Characteristically, he focused on claimed ramifications in the area of national defense.
“During the FY24 appropriations process, House Republicans achieved conservative policy wins, rejected extreme Democrat proposals, and imposed substantial cuts while significantly strengthening national defense,” the Speaker’s prepared remarks said Friday. “The process was also an important step in breaking the omnibus muscle memory and represents the best achievable outcome in a divided government.”
