After weeks of paralysis, Congress is finally on track to end the longest shutdown in U.S. history. Lawmakers are preparing to vote Wednesday on a stopgap spending bill that will restore funding to key federal programs and reopen shuttered agencies, with President Donald Trump’s support proving crucial in rallying Republicans.
The package will restart food assistance for millions, bring back paychecks for hundreds of thousands of federal employees, and stabilize critical air-traffic control operations that have been under strain. Despite a razor-thin 219-213 majority in the House, GOP leaders expect to hold their ranks together, buoyed by Trump’s backing and determined to secure a legislative win.
At 1:38 a.m. Wednesday, the House Rules Committee approved an 8-4 procedural vote along party lines, clearing the way for an up-or-down vote on the Senate-passed funding bill. The rule limits debate to one hour and prohibits amendments.
The Senate approved the measure Monday with support from eight Democrats who broke with party leadership, enabling passage of a short-term funding plan that runs through January 30. The deal keeps the federal government on pace to add roughly $1.8 trillion annually to the existing $38 trillion national debt.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., appealed directly to Democrats ahead of the vote. “My urgent plea of all my colleagues in the House – that means every Democrat in the House – is to think carefully, pray and finally do the right thing,” he told reporters, after holding his chamber on standby for nearly two months.
Many House Democrats remain furious at the Senate compromise, which came just days after their party celebrated major electoral wins in New York City, Virginia, and New Jersey—victories they believed would strengthen their hand in negotiations over extending federal health insurance subsidies. While the Senate deal guarantees another vote on the subsidy issue in December, Johnson has made no such commitment in the House.
“Donald Trump and Republicans believe the affordability crisis in America is made up,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., wrote on social media Wednesday. “That’s why these extremists haven’t done a damn thing to lower the high cost of living. You deserve better.”
If passed, the bill will head to Trump’s desk for signature—a move he has already hailed as “a very big victory.” The return of the House to session will also bring fresh attention to unrelated but politically charged matters, including a possible vote to declassify all files connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Speaker Johnson has previously said that issue would not move forward until the House Oversight Committee concludes its ongoing investigation.
Johnson will also swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., who recently won a special election to fill the seat of her late father, Raul Grijalva. Her arrival gives Democrats the final signature needed to force a floor vote on releasing the Epstein records.
That could set the stage for the House, immediately after completing its constitutional duty to fund the government, to pivot toward a new round of debate over the disgraced financier whose 2019 prison death continues to fuel public suspicion and political intrigue.
The funding measure itself includes three full-year appropriations bills—covering military construction, agriculture programs such as food assistance, and legislative operations. It also includes a contentious provision allowing eight Republican senators to pursue damages for alleged privacy violations during the Justice Department’s investigation into the January 6 Capitol riot.
The bill makes it retroactively illegal to obtain a senator’s phone records without disclosure and allows affected lawmakers to sue the Justice Department for up to $500,000, plus legal fees and costs. “Not a cent for healthcare, but Republicans wrote in a corrupt cash bonus of at least $500k each for 8 GOP Senators,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., blasted in a social media post.
The House vote is expected later Wednesday. While minor opposition is anticipated from a few fiscal hawks, including Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Victoria Spartz of Indiana, the Freedom Caucus is not expected to obstruct passage. Its chairman, Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., said, “I believe we’re all going to be on board with this.”
{Matzav.com}
