After successful negotiations behind closed doors with two of the three Republican holdouts, Mike Johnson of Louisiana has been elected as Speaker for the 119th Congress by securing the 218 votes he needed.
Category: Pure Politics
Johnson Comes Up Short… for Now
Today is the first day of the 119th Congress, with Members of both chambers of Congress scheduled to be sworn in. Members of the Senate have been sworn in. In order for that to occur in the House, it must first elect a Speaker. During the first round of voting earlier this afternoon, Mike Johnson of Louisiana could not muster enough votes to win re-election to the position. There are currently 434 Member-Elects in the House and he was able to win 216 votes in the first round; 218 votes are needed.
With this vote still technically open and negotiations now taking place between Johnson’s team and the holdouts, it remains to be seen whether enough minds can be changed in the near future.
Please continue to check back for updates.
CR Adopted, Government Funded… At Least Through March 14
Just after midnight Saturday, the Senate cleared by a vote of 85 to 11 the continuing resolution that had been approved by the House just a few hours earlier, sending the measure to The White House for the President’s signature. The legislative package keeps the government funded through March 14, meaning that Congress will need to tackle the question of how to fund the remainder of FY2025 once again the first part of next year.
Now, It’s the Senate’s Turn
After a frantic day of discussions, just after 6 PM ET, the House was finally able to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government funded past midnight. The House leadership brought the bill up under the suspension of the rules, meaning that it needed the support of two-thirds of those Members who voted. It was eventually agreed to by a vote of 366 to 34, with one Member voting “Present.”
This version of the continuing resolution is a much smaller package than the one that was defeated earlier this week. Although there are other provisions, its main contents are: 1) an extension of government funding through March 14, 2025; 2) funding for disaster relief; 3) sections related to a set of health-care programs; and 4) one-year extensions of programs funded by the Farm Bill.
It is now up to the Senate to clear the bill and to send it to President Biden’s desk before the clock strikes midnight.
Agencies Have Shutdown Processes in Place
As a result of past shutdowns and experiences with near shutdowns, agencies have developed policies and procedures to address such occurrences. The White House Office of Management and Budget maintains a central repository of individual agency policies, available here.