Earlier on Friday afternoon, the House passed the third version (AKA Plan C) of a continuing resolution (CR) crafted by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, in an effort to avoid a partial government shutdown before many in Washington head home for winter recess. As RedState’s Susie Moore wrote:
Advertisement
The House has now passed the “Plan C” CR, with a total vote of 366 to 34, with one voting “present.” The 34 nay votes were Republicans. All Democrats voted in favor of it, save for the one who voted “present.”
…The measure will now move onto the Senate, where, given the latest developments, it appears it will likely pass.
READ MORE: (Updated) With ‘Plan C,’ the House Averts a Shutdown
BREAKING: Second House CR Spending Bill Vote Fails. What Happens Next?
Fox News’ Capitol Hill reporter, Chad Pergram shared on his X account that some journalists were taking tongue-in-cheek wagers on when the Senate would begin voting on the CR:
From colleague Dan Scully. GOP NC Sen Tillis on timing for interim spending bill: I’ll set the line at 12:45 and I’m taking the under
Ahead of the vote, several senators gave their take on the evening’s agenda, which also included a vote on the Social Security Fairness Act:
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told POLITICO he suspects “there will be five or six amendments to the to the social security bill,” and that the Senate will “go past midnight, but not much” while trying to finish its work before heading out of town.
Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, in an afternoon speech, addressed his colleagues who were considering voting nay on the funding measure:
You never get everything you want, but often you can get quite a lot. And the folks who prefer to make a point have a funny habit of reminding us out loud how poorly they understand that fact.
Advertisement
The soon-to-be Majority Leader, the Senate Minority Whip, John Thune (R-SD) spoke on more granular matters related to the process, telling Fox News:
Well, there’s a…several different amendments. It’ll probably be considered on the social security bill, and then we’ll see on the CR, but we’re we’re vetting them and getting them. We’re trying to get the assessment of that. Hopefully soon we can start voting.
Sen. Schumer indicated he was optimistic about the CR’s passage in the Upper Chamber:
Schumer said the legislation “does not include everything Democrats fought for” but still contains “major victories” since it would “provide emergency aid for communities battered by natural disasters, no debt ceiling, and it will keep the government open with no draconian cuts.”
Later in the evening, Schumer added:
Schumer on interim spending bill: We got some major things we wanted in the bill, particularly the, the what — the disaster relief, which was bigger. President asked for 117. We got 100. We got, we kept the government open and we didn’t get the debt ceiling. So there were three…
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) December 21, 2024
We got some major things we wanted in the bill, particularly the, the what — the disaster relief, which was bigger. President asked for 117. We got 100. We got, we kept the government open and we didn’t get the debt ceiling. So there were three major victories. We didn’t get everything we wanted. But I think if you look at the vote in the House, people felt pretty good.
Advertisement
Then just before 8:30 p.m. EST, he shared that the Senate’s time agreement would bring in the CR’s passage “tonight, before the midnight deadline.” But at around 20 minutes to midnight EST, it was clear the deadline would not be met on the dot. Pergram wrote on X:
“Very doubtful at the rate at which the Senate is voting that it votes on the stopgap spending package before the midnight deadline. That likely means a technical shutdown for a few minutes or an hour. But no crisis”
One of the amendments by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) “came close” to passing,” per Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY):
Senate votes down amendment from Sen. Rand Paul R-KY to raise the Social Security retirement age to 70. “Came close,” Senate Majority Leader Schumer said after the vote. pic.twitter.com/cKfe3KQksG
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) December 21, 2024
By a vote of 76-20, the Social Security Fairness Act gained passage in a lay-up.
Just after midnight the White House released a statement:
OMB has ceased shutdown preparations because there is a high degree of confidence that Congress will imminently pass the relevant appropriations and the President will sign the bill on Saturday. Because obligations of federal funds are incurred and tracked on a daily basis, agencies will not shut down and may continue their normal operations.
Senators began voting on the stopgap government spending bill just before 12:30 a.m. EST. It will need 60 ayes to pass.
Advertisement
Now, the Senate has spoken:
The Senate has voted 85 to 11 to pass the stopgap spending bill approved in the House earlier today and keep the government open.
Here’s some of what is (and isn’t) in the bill:
The final bill did not include anything related to the debt limit, though House Republicans agreed to increase the borrowing limit by $1.5 trillion in exchange for $2.5 trillion in net cuts to mandatory spending. That would take place during next year’s budget reconciliation process.
….
All told, the three-month stopgap bill included roughly $100 billion in aid for areas ravaged by natural disasters, including hurricanes Helene and Milton. Senators from North and South Carolina had threatened to hold up any bill that did not include the funds.
Included in the disaster aid is nearly $29 billion in funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund, which had seen its coffers become nearly empty recently.
The CR also OK’d federal funds to help rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed in March.
The Small Business Administration’s (SBA) disaster loans program, which businesses and homeowners rely on for low-interest loans to recover from disasters, also was replenished to the tune of about $2 billion.
The bill includes a one-year extension of the 2018 farm bill after Congress failed again in passing a new, five-year version. Lawmakers also agreed to spend an additional $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers, which comes after some Republicans in both chambers threatened not to vote for the measure without the further assistance.
At the same time, the roughly 120-page bill was significantly slimmed down from an initial bipartisan agreement struck earlier this week, which Trump ally Elon Musk also helped kill.
Among the notable provisions that were ultimately stripped from the final bill were a transfer of land surrounding Robert F. Kennedy Stadium from the federal government to the District of Columbia and language that would have ended a years-long freeze on cost-of-living adjustments for members.
Advertisement
The White House indicated earlier on Friday evening after the House passed its bill, that President Biden was prepared to sign the Senate work product into law, once it reaches his desk. WH Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement:
“President Biden supports moving this legislation forward and ensuring that the vital services the government provides for hardworking Americans “from issuing Social Security checks to processing benefits for veterans.
“While it does not include everything we sought, it includes disaster relief that the President requested for the communities recovering from the storm, eliminates the accelerated pathway to a tax cut for billionaires, and would ensure that the government can continue to operate at full capacity.”
That was an interesting Congress. Onto the 119th
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) December 20, 2024
UPDATE: Here’s a breakdown of the votes:
As promised here is the breakdown –
Senators voting against – Bruan, Crapo, Hawley, Johnson, Kennedy, Lee, Paul, Risch, Romney, Sanders, and Schmitt
Senators Manchin, Rubio, Schiff and Vance did not vote. https://t.co/y0suDD3o47
— Senate Press Gallery (@SenatePress) December 21, 2024
As this is a breaking story, RedState will provide updates as they become available.
