(USNewsBreak.com) – Congress has gone round and round in negotiations to pass the appropriations bills necessary to fund the government. Numerous delays have occurred since the original September 30 deadline to fund Fiscal Year 2024 (FY2024). Congress recently managed to push through a massive spending package, and President Joe Biden signed it into law over the weekend, narrowly avoiding a shutdown.
The Massive Spending Bill
On Saturday, March 23, Biden signed a $1.2 trillion package that the House had unveiled only two days prior, on Thursday. The bill advanced out of the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) worked with Democrats to pass the measure 286 to 134. The legislation got hung up In the Senate for hours while both sides of the aisle disagreed on whether to hold votes for amendments. However, just before midnight, things began moving forward. Eventually, the bill passed with 74 in favor and 24 against.
While the lawmakers did miss the deadline, it didn’t impact government operations. The bill provides full funding for the rest of the federal agencies through FY2024, bringing an end to the ongoing saga that has played out since last fall.
In a statement following his signing of the bill, Biden acknowledged that it “represents a compromise,” so both sides won a little and lost a little in the negotiations. Conservatives won several caveats, such as preventing the ban on gas stoves and prohibiting the use of federal funds to cover abortions. The bill includes $20 billion in funding for US Customs and Border Protection to increase the number of agents and support efforts to counteract the fentanyl crisis. It provides Immigration and Customs Enforcement with $10 billion to transport and remove undocumented immigrants from the US.
Rep. Files Motion to Remove Speaker… Again
Last year, when then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) worked with Democrats to pass the spending bill, his counterparts voted to oust him from leadership. That set the stage for him to leave the House altogether. Now, history seems to be repeating itself.
Shortly after the House passed the bill, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) filed a motion to vacate Johnson from the Speaker position. She later declared it was more of a warning but reiterated that “it’s time for our conference to choose a new speaker.” Johnson became the House Speaker in October. If she does press to move forward with a vote, it wouldn’t take place for at least two weeks because lawmakers began their Spring recess.
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