Democrats Support Speaker McCarthy
Despite 90 “No” Votes from Republican Members
Minutes before the government shutdown over political disputes between Republican Speaker McCarthy and the conservative “hardliners” Freedom Caucus led by Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida a crisis was averted when 209 Democrats and 126 Republicans voted to pass a continuing resolution that will fund the government for 45 more days.
What does this mean?
The provision that passed with Democrat and Republicans that support Speaker McCarthy was also approved in the US Senate and signed into law by President Biden will keep the government open through November 17 this year. This means that:
2.2 million federal workers and 1.3 million active-duty troops avoid immediate financial impact as they will not be furloughed or have to report to work without pay.
Veterans benefits and other programs that supported families will remain intact during this period.
Natural disaster funding to support relief efforts underway at FEMA were included in the funding.
What was left out of the funding resolution?
As Congress moves toward the next deadline one key provision that would have funded aid for Ukraine was left out of the final funding resolution.
After the resolution passed, Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy is expected to “advance a vote on Ukraine aid”. Republican Congressman Gaetz, who has been the most vocal opponent to Speaker McCarthy, has previously led efforts to “prohibit all military assistance to Ukraine”. His last amendment received 93 Republican votes. Despite Bipartisan support for funding and urging from President Biden for Congress to keep America’s commitments, this remains a sticking point in the ongoing budget discussions.
What happens next?
The new deadline to keep the government open is November 17, 2023. Congress must pass another spending bill by then. After the Democrats supported Speaker McCarthy to pass this Resolution, the Congressman Gaetz and the extreme group of Republicans who voted no to keep the government open have introduced “a motion to vacate against McCarthy”, which would challenge his ability to remain Speaker of the House.
On Tuesday, October 3 Congressman Gaetz led enough Republicans to successfully pass the motion to vacate and remove Speaker McCarthy from his leadership position, making him the first speaker in history to be removed through such a procedure.
While an interim speaker pro tempore was appointed, Congress must elect a new Speaker before any other business can be conducted, putting the timeline for a new budget and other business before Congress in jeopardy.