House GOP one step closer to passing stopgap funding bill

The House GOP’s seven-month stopgap funding bill to avert a government shutdown is one step closer to passage.

Republicans stayed mostly united on a test vote on the measure Tuesday afternoon, paving the way for a vote on final passage later in the day — just three days before the deadline to prevent a lapse in federal funding.

The 216-214 vote bodes well for Speaker Mike Johnson, who can’t, in his razor-thin majority, afford more than a couple GOP defections on a bill that isn’t expected to garner much, if any, Democratic support.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has pledged to oppose the bill to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year — while slashing non-defense funding by roughly $13 billion and increasing defense spending by about $6 billion. The fiscal conservative has never supported a continuing resolution, otherwise known as a CR, and joined all Democrats in opposing the procedural rule governing floor consideration of the measure.

President Donald Trump, who is heavily supportive of the funding package, has railed against Massie for stepping out of line, leveraging threats of backing a primary challenge against the incumbent lawmaker that could have a chilling effect on other Republicans, too.