House Republicans muscled a stopgap funding measure to passage over Democratic opposition Tuesday, sending the Senate a bill that would stave off a partial government shutdown this weekend.
The mostly party-line 217-213 vote came after an intensive lobbying campaign by President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other top administration officials to win over a handful of GOP holdouts. With current funding set to expire Friday night, lawmakers have little time to pass a funding extension in both chambers and get it to the president’s desk for his signature without a brief partial shutdown.
Senate leaders were hoping to clear the measure for Trump’s signature by Thursday night and leave town to start their St. Patrick’s Day weeklong recess a day early. Senators would need unanimous consent to speed up the legislative process to beat the Friday deadline.
