The House passed the FY2018 omnibus spending bill at about 1 PM EDT by a vote of 256 to 167. The $1.3-trillion package now heads over to the Senate for its consideration. President Trump has indicated that he will sign it after Senate passage.
Author: sanghan1
Reviewed 9/22
Senate Clears 17-Day CR
After agreeing to bring up a short-term continuing resolution (CR) earlier in the day that would end the three-day government shutdown, the Senate officially approved it this afternoon. The 17-day measure would keep the government funded through Thursday, February 8. The House is expected to take up the CR later today.
DHS Pick Confirmed
The Senate confirmed yesterday by a vote of 62 – 37 Kirstjen Nielsen to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). She replaces John Kelly, who resigned from that position to become the White House Chief of Staff. She served most recently as the White House Deputy Chief of Staff under Kelly. She also worked for Kelly before joining the White House staff as his chief of staff at DHS.
Hurricane-Debt Ceiling-Short-Term Spending Package Expected to be Cleared
In a surprising development earlier this week, President Trump struck a deal with the Democratic leadership in Congress to link measures that would increase the debt ceiling and keep the government funded on a temporary basis to a hurricane-relief bill. The move caught Congressional Republicans off guard, who had earlier expressed opposition to tying the debt ceiling and government-funding efforts to a bill to fund the rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Harvey.
After the House cleared a stand-along hurricane bill totaling approximately $8 billion earlier this week, the Senate followed up by nearly doubling the size of the package as well as increasing the debt limit and funding the government through December 8. The House is expected to take up the Senate-passed package later today.
Appeals Court Upholds Block on Administration Travel Ban
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the block on the second version of the Administration travel ban. A federal judge in Maryland originally blocked the ban from going into effect earlier this year. The Fourth Circuit covers the following states: Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has yet to rule on a similar block issued by a judge in Hawaii.