Early Friday afternoon, the House of Representatives passed the third version (also known as Plan C) of a continuing resolution (CR) drafted by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to prevent a partial government shutdown before many in Washington return for winter recess. As RedState’s Susie Moore wrote:
The House of Representatives has now passed CR “Plan C” by a total vote of 366 to 34, with one vote “present.” The 34 no votes came from Republicans. All Democrats voted for it except the one who voted “present.”
…The measure now heads to the Senate, where it is likely to pass given recent developments.
READ MORE: (Updated) With “Plan C” the House of Representatives prevents a shutdown
Breaking news: The vote on the CR spending bill fails in the second House of Representatives. What happens next?
Fox News Capitol Hill reporter Chad Pergram said on his X account that some journalists were picking this up ironic bets when the Senate would begin voting on the CR:
By colleague Dan Scully. GOP NC Sen Tillis on schedule for preliminary spending bill: I’ll set the limit at 12:45 and take the floor
In the run-up to the vote, several senators gave their opinion On the evening’s agenda, which included a vote on the Social Security Fairness Act:
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told POLITICO he suspects “there will be five or six changes to the Social Security Act” and that the Senate will “go past midnight, but not by much” as it tries to finalize the bill work before leaving town.
Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said in an afternoon address: addressed his colleagues who were considering voting no on the funding measure:
You never get everything you want, but often you can get quite a lot. And the people who choose to speak up have a witty habit of loudly reminding us how little they understand this fact.
Incoming Majority Leader, Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD) spoke on more detailed issues related to the trial: tell Fox News:
Well, there are…several different amendments. It will probably be reflected in the Social Security Act and then we will see it in the CR, but we check them and get them. We are trying to get an assessment of this. Hopefully we can start voting soon.
Sen. Schumer indicated that he was hopeful about the adoption of the CR in the upper chamber:
Schumer said the bill “doesn’t contain everything Democrats have fought for” but still contains “major victories” as it would provide “emergency aid to communities hit by natural disasters, no debt ceiling and keep the government open without draconian cuts.”
Later that evening, Schumer added:
Schumer on interim spending bill: We included some key things we wanted in the bill, particularly the what – the disaster relief, which was larger. The 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 included some key things we wanted in the bill, particularly the what – the disaster relief, which was bigger. The 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 gigantic victories. We didn’t get everything we wanted. But I think if you look at the vote in the House, people felt pretty good.
Then, just before 8:30 p.m. EST, he divided that the Senate’s timing agreement would set up passage of the CR “tonight, before the midnight deadline.” But about 20 minutes before midnight EST, it became clear that the deadline would not be met on time. Pergram wrote on X:
“Given the speed at which the Senate is voting, it is very doubtful whether it will vote on the emergency package before the midnight deadline. This will likely mean a technical downtime for a few minutes or an hour. But not a crisis.”
One of Sen. Rand Paul’s (Republican-KY) amendments was “close” to passage, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY):
The Senate rejects Sen. Rand Paul R-KY’s amendment that would raise the Social Security retirement age to 70. “Hardly close,” Senate Majority Leader Schumer said after the vote. pic.twitter.com/cKfe3KQksG
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) December 21, 2024
The Social Security Fairness Act passed by a vote of 76-20 Round won in lay-up.
The White House shortly after midnight released a statement:
OMB has halted preparations for the shutdown because there is a high degree of confidence that Congress will pass appropriate funding shortly and the President will sign the bill on Saturday. Because federal funding obligations are incurred and tracked on a daily basis, agencies will not be closed and will be able to continue normal operations.
Senators began voting on the stopgap government spending bill just before 12:30 p.m. EST. It will take 60 years for it to be over.
Well, the Senate has spoken:
The Senate voted 85-11 to pass the emergency spending bill approved in the House today, leaving the government open.
Here are some of them what is (and what isn’t) in the invoice:
The final bill contained nothing related to the debt ceiling, although House Republicans agreed to a $1.5 trillion escalate in the borrowing limit in return for $2.5 trillion in net reductions in mandatory spending. This would be done as part of next year’s budget reconciliation process.
….
All told, the three-month emergency bill included about $100 billion in aid to areas hit by natural disasters like Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Senators from North and South Carolina had threatened to hold up any bill that didn’t include the funds.
The disaster relief includes nearly $29 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund, whose coffers have been nearly empty recently.
The CR also approved federal funding to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed in March.
The Small Business Administration’s (SBA) disaster loan program, which provides low-interest loans to businesses and homeowners to recover from disasters, also received a roughly $2 billion boost.
The bill would extend the 2018 farm bill by one year after Congress again failed to pass a recent, five-year version. Lawmakers also agreed to spend an additional $10 billion in economic aid for farmers after some Republicans in both chambers threatened not to vote for the measure without further support.
At the same time, the approximately 120-page bill has been significantly slimmed down compared to an initial bipartisan agreement earlier this week, which Trump’s ally Elon Musk was also involved in destroying.
Among the notable provisions that were ultimately removed 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 impose a year-long freeze on cost-of-living adjustments would have ended for members.
The White House had already indicated on Friday evening after the House passed the bill that President Biden was ready to sign the Senate’s work product into law as soon as it reached his desk. WH press spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement:
“President Biden supports advancing this legislation and ensuring the government’s vital services are delivered to hardworking Americans, “from issuing Social Security checks to processing veterans benefits.”
“While it doesn’t include everything we sought, it does include the President’s requested disaster relief for communities recovering from the storm, eliminates the quick track to a tax cut for billionaires, and would ensure the government continues to operate at full capacity Capacity can work.”
That was an interesting congress. On the 119th
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) December 20, 2024
UPDATE: Here’s a breakdown of the votes:
As promised, here’s the breakdown –
Senators voting against it – 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 news story, RedState will provide updates as they become available.
