In a few weeks, House GOP leaders will likely face something unprecedented in modern congressional history: the need for a two-thirds supermajority to pass final spending bills for the current fiscal year.
It’s a bar that, had it been in place for the past quarter-century, would have kept numerous appropriations packages from getting out of the House — potentially leading to more partial government shutdowns and continuing resolutions. And this year, it empowers the minority House Democrats, who already have a leg up in the fiscal 2024 negotiations, with the White House and Senate on their side.
In just under half of the budget cycles dating back to 1998, at least one of the annual spending bills did not get two-thirds support in the House, CQ Roll Call found. On four occasions, not a single spending measure received two-thirds backing, a task that can be harder when congressional leaders resort to bundling them into giant omnibus packages.
