The House of Representatives finally overcame a procedural hurdle Tuesday night to allow votes on spending bills after defeating a similar motion twice last week.
The vote clears a path for a vote on an agriculture appropriations bill that was yanked from the floor before the August recess after a handful of Republicans indicated they would block it.
The affirmative vote is a victory for Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) after a small group of Republicans twice tanked a motion last week to allow consideration of a Pentagon spending bill.
The future of the agriculture spending bill — not to mention the additional three bills — remains murky in the House despite Tuesday night’s result. The Senate is prioritizing the passage of a continuing resolution, or CR, this week, which will likely take until late Friday or Saturday due to parliamentary hurdles.
The Senate CR probanly would extend current funding levels 45 days and include $4.5 billion in funding for Ukraine, a nonstarter for many House Republicans.
McCarthy pledged Tuesday night after the successful vote to bring his own continuing resolution to the floor this week, probably Friday. That bill includes border security funding sought by conservatives. McCarthy had not pledged previously to consider a CR, either a House-crafted version or a CR the Senate might send across the Capitol.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has promised to introduce a motion to oust McCarthy from the speakership if McCarthy brings a CR to the House floor. That motion to vacate the chair would be privileged by House rules and force the House to vote on the matter.
A successful motion to oust McCarthy would require the support of most, if not all, Democrats. The Democrat Whip laid out last week the price they would seek from McCarthy to save his speakership, including the termination of the impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden.
The government must be funded by September 30, and the compressed timeline all but requires a CR to prevent a shutdown.
Follow Bradley Jaye on Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.
