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House votes to pass funding bill, sending legislation to Senate

The bill, approved 217-213, would fund the government through the end of September and largely maintain funding levels from last year.
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The U.S. House of Representatives has voted 217-213 to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government.

The final vote was nearly along party lines: one Democrat voted for the bill, one Republican voted against it and two members of the House did not vote.

With its passage, the bill now goes to the Senate for approval.

The bill proposes to fund the government through the end of September and largely maintain funding levels from last year. Non-defense spending would decline by some $13 billion compared to last year, and defense spending would increase by about $6 billion.

It would also give the Trump administration increased discretion to prioritize spending, which Democrats have criticized.

“This is not a clean CR. This bill is a blank check,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee. “It’s a blank check for Elon Musk and President Trump.”

But the bill had sufficient support to pass without any Democratic votes, an important legislative hurdle for Republicans.

“We have to keep the government in operation," Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Tuesday. “It’s a fundamental responsibility of ours. The vice president echoed that sentiment. It was very well received and very well delivered.”

"We did our job today," Johnson said after the vote.

Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats voted against the GOP proposal because it didn't do enough to protect Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security.

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In the Senate, at least eight Democratic votes would be needed to avoid a shutdown.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has already said he will support the measure, but other Democrats have indicated they may oppose it, seeking more protections against Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency.