By Katy Stech Ferek, Siobhan Hughes and Lindsay Wise
The Republican-led House approved stopgap spending legislation to avert a government shutdown and provide more than $100 billion in disaster and farm aid, sending the measure to the Senate just hours ahead of the midnight deadline.
Lawmakers voted 366 to 34 to approve the proposal, well above the two-thirds threshold needed under special fast-track procedures.
The bill marked House Speaker Mike Johnson’s third attempt to combine a three-month funding extension with emergency aid this week, after wrestling with competing demands from President-elect Donald Trump, his billionaire efficiency czar Elon Musk, internal GOP critics and Democrats.
Johnson (R., La.) was forced to formulate the latest approach after a bipartisan plan released Tuesday was torpedoed by Musk and Trump, and a slimmed-down measure backed by the president-elect that included a debt-ceiling increase was defeated resoundingly in a floor vote Thursday.
“We are excited about this outcome tonight. We are grateful that everyone stood together to do the right thing,” said a relieved Johnson, whose struggles in recent days have raised questions about whether he would be re-elected speaker in the new Congress. Johnson said passage of the bill would set the stage for next year, when Republicans will control the White House as well as both chambers of Congress.
Johnson said he had spoken to Musk and had been in “constant contact” with Trump, including just 45 minutes before votes concluded.
“The speaker did a good job here, given the circumstances,” Musk posted on X about Friday’s bill.
The proposal would extend government funding until March 14, while also providing more $100 billion in disaster relief and $10 billion in economic aid for farmers. The bill also includes a one-year extension of the farm bill, the cornerstone of U.S. food and agriculture policy.
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