WASHINGTON—The House of Representatives yesterday passed a bill to fund the government through Sept. 30.
The measure, known as a continuing resolution, passed in a near party-line vote of 217-213. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) was the sole Republican to vote against the bill, and Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) was the lone Democrat who voted for it.
Golden said that while the legislation wasn’t perfect, it was better than a government shutdown.
“Even a brief shutdown would introduce even more chaos and uncertainty at a time when our country can ill-afford it,” he wrote on X.
It now goes to the Senate, where it must receive the support of at least 60 senators to pass a procedural hurdle and advance to a final vote—meaning that eight Senate Democrats would need to vote for the measure.
It is uncertain if the bill has enough Democratic support in the upper chamber. If the measure is not passed by March 14, the federal government will go into shutdown.
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The 6-month government funding bill, backed by President Donald Trump, would boost defense funding by about $6 billion compared to last year, while nondefense spending would drop by $13 billion. It also provides additional funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement requested by the Trump administration.
Overall, the legislation provides $7 billion in savings over current funding levels, according to GOP aides.
The bill also includes a measure to block congressional Democrats from introducing resolutions to block Trump’s new tariffs on Mexico and Canada.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other Democrats have been mum on how their conference will go about the bill.
“We’re going to wait to see what the House does first,” Schumer told reporters following a lengthy weekly conference luncheon on Tuesday.
This comes as Democrats have been grappling with how to counter Trump’s agenda, particularly the DOGE-related cuts to government spending. Some lawmakers are leery about voting to shut down the government given the possible electoral blowback.
Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with the Democrats, said that Senate Democrats were also grappling with a dilemma that voting for a shutdown may backfire by making it easier for the Trump administration to fire more federal workers.
King said whether to vote for the package was a “very difficult decision”
“This is a classic no-win situation,” he told reporters.
At least one Senate Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), has voiced support for the funding bill.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) criticized the continuing resolution as a budget “that simply lets Donald Trump continue to shut down more and more and more of government. That is a problem.”
Warren told reporters Senate Democrats will have a meeting on Wednesday to discuss next steps.
—Jackson Richman, Arjun Singh
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The Department of Education will slash half its workforce as part of its cost-cutting measures. Trump has previously noted his intention to shrink the Department of Education, move its functions to other federal agencies or states, and eventually eliminate it.
The United States has resumed aid to Ukraine, after it agreed to a 30-day ceasefire in its war with Russia. The development comes after talks in Saudi Arabia, and now awaits a response from Moscow.
Trump has canceled a plan to double tariffs on Canada, after that nation agreed not to apply a 25 percent tariff on U.S. energy exports. “President Trump has once again used the leverage of the American economy, which is the best and biggest in the world, to deliver a win for the American people,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said egg prices have dropped $1.85 a dozen following the announcement of the USDA’s plans to combat bird-flu. Prices may rise again in the coming months due to Easter season demands.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has canceled more than 200,000 government credit cards after an audit revealed they were going unused. The DOGE audit also found that more than 4.6 million government-issued cards had racked up over $40 billion in purchases.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has canceled two memos issued during President Joe Biden’s administration that promoted “a social justice and environmental agenda.” Duffy said the reversal of the memos was part of “getting back to basics” under the Trump administration.
—Stacy Robinson
