The Senate approved a $1.2 trillion spending package in a bipartisan vote during the early hours of Saturday morning, sending the bill to President Joe Biden, who will likely sign it as soon as possible to avoid a government shutdown.
After passing the House on Friday in a 286-134 vote, the Senate voted 74-24 at 2:00 a.m. on Saturday to send the more than 1,000-page spending package to Biden’s desk, The Hill reported. Earlier this week, House and Senate leadership announced that they had come to an agreement to fund the government for the remainder of fiscal 2024, which is nearly half over, covering the remaining spending bills that were not included in a $460 billion “minibus” that passed earlier this month.
“It’s been a very long and difficult day, but we have just reached an agreement to complete the job of funding the government,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said just before the bill passed. “It is good for the country that we have reached this bipartisan deal. It wasn’t easy, but tonight our persistence has been worth it.”
Twenty-five Republicans voted to pass the spending bill, along with 47 Democrats, while 22 Republicans voted against the $1.2 trillion package. Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, along with independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders — who caucuses with the Democrats — also voted against the bill. Sanders cited a block of funding to UNRWA, an agency of the U.N., as a reason he voted against the bill, according to The Hill. During negotiations with Democrats, Republicans successfully secured the cut in funding to the UNRWA, whose workers have been connected to Hamas terrorists.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said on Tuesday that the final negotiations that were worked out between House and Senate leadership focused on appropriations for the Homeland Security Department (DHS). The $1.2 trillion package covers funding for the Legislative Branch, Financial Services and General Government, and the Departments of Defense, State, Health and Human Services, Labor, Homeland Security, and related agencies.
Republican hardliners in the House and Senate slammed the bill as the 1,000 pages were released overnight and less than two days before the deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown.
“At 2:32 am — when Americans were sleeping — the Swamp released its second half of the omnibus. 1,012 pages that spend $1.2 TRILLION of taxpayer dollars on disastrous policies,” Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) posted on X on Thursday. “The House is still expected to vote on this monstrosity TOMORROW MORNING. Washington is beyond broken.”
At 2:32 am—when Americans were sleeping—the Swamp released its second half of the omnibus.
1,012 pages that spend $1.2 TRILLION of taxpayer dollars on disastrous policies.
The House is still expected to vote on this monstrosity TOMORROW MORNING.
Washington is beyond broken. pic.twitter.com/AlZCDYWBKK
— Rep. Andrew Clyde (@Rep_Clyde) March 21, 2024
After a bipartisan majority in the House and Senate approved the spending package, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) said, “I did everything I could to stop it. And improve it.”
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“But far too many Republicans wanted to spend like Democrats,” Lee added. “Those of us who saw this bill as an unmitigated disaster were sadly outnumbered. I voted ‘no.’”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) took her frustration a step further after the House passed the package and filed a motion to oust Speaker Johnson on Friday, saying, “No Republican in the House of Representatives can in good conscience vote for this bill.”
Johnson defended expediting the spending omnibus through the House earlier this week, saying, “We have to govern,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
“We have to demonstrate that we can keep this thing together and keep the train on the tracks,” the speaker added.
Daniel Chaitin contributed to this report.