WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a stopgap bill to keep federal agencies funded past Friday, averting a partial shutdown beginning this weekend even as President Donald Trump dramatically cuts the government.
The bill passed in a nearly party-line 217-213 vote, with one Republican voting no and one Democrat yes.
The continuing resolution, which largely keeps the government funded at its current level through September 30, would need to be passed by the Republican-majority Senate and signed by Trump into law by Friday to avert a shutdown.
Trump has been pressing Republicans to fall into line, and Vice President JD Vance urged them to stay unified at a closed-door meeting on Tuesday morning.
Hardline Republican lawmakers have traditionally opposed the stopgap measures, and Tuesday’s vote marked the first time several of them voted in support of one since the party assumed the majority in the chamber in January 2023.
Representative Andy Harris, chairman of the hardline House Freedom Caucus, told reporters he supported the measure because it comes as Trump and his adviser Elon Musk are in the midst of a campaign to slash the federal government.
“This is not your grandfather’s continuing resolution,” Harris told reporters. “This is a different type of spending bill.”
Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro criticized the measure. “It is not a simple stop-gap that keeps the lights on and the doors open. This is Republican leadership handing over the keys of the government, and a blank check to Elon Musk and to President Trump,” she said.
Senate Republicans will need at least seven Democrats to vote with them to avert a lapse in funding, which could disrupt everything from financial oversight to scientific research and force hundreds of thousands of federal workers to go without pay.
Many of those workers have already been stressed by Trump’s blunt-force campaign to thin the ranks of the U.S. civil service and slash spending.
Senate Democrats have voiced opposition to the bill but also have a history of criticizing government shutdowns as needless chaos that they say hurts their constituents. Several have said they would vote for the measure to avert a shutdown.
At least 100,000 of the government’s 2.3 million civilian workers have either been fired or taken a buyout so far, and Trump has effectively shuttered agencies that handle foreign aid and consumer protections. Trump’s administration has ordered a second round of layoffs as well, with plans due later this week.
Democrats say Trump’s downsizing effort runs roughshod over Congress’ authority over spending matters.
The bill would extend government funding until the end of the fiscal year on September 30. Increases in defense, veterans’ care and border security would be offset by cuts to some domestic programs.
(Reporting by David Morgan and Bo Erickson, additional reporting by Richard Cowan and Gabriella Borter; Editing by Andy Sullivan, Scott Malone and Cynthia Osterman)
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