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updated 10:20 AM UTC, Dec 13, 2023

U.S. House Passes Stopgap Spending Bill, Senate Fate Uncertain

ABC News: The House a cleared a must-pass bill Thursday night to fund the government through Feb. 16, sending the measure to the Senate as lawmakers scramble to avoid a government shutdown amid a fight over the fate of young undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers.

The measure passed by a 230-197 vote, with a handful of Republicans joining Democrats in voting against the measure.

Conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus largely backed the measure, after spending much of the day in negotiations with the White House and GOP leaders over concerns about military funding levels and the larger debate between the White House and Capitol Hill over immigration reform.

The package would fund the government through mid-February, and also includes a measure to renew funds for a program, known as CHIP, providing low-income children with health insurance for six years.

Democrats largely opposed the measure over the amount of funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the lack of progress on protecting roughly 700,000 Dreamers from deportation in March.

In the Senate, Democrats have pledged to oppose the bill unless it includes protections for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Last-minute negotiations were disrupted Thursday by an early-morning tweet from President Trump that appeared to undermine the GOP strategy to include CHIP funding to attract Democratic votes.

Trump later spoke with House Speaker Paul Ryan, and the White House and top GOP leaders said the president did in fact support Republicans’ short-term spending package.

The measure now moves to the Senate, where the math still appears to be a challenge for Republicans, who would need Democratic votes to clear the 60-vote threshold needed to pass it.

A shutdown would begin just after Friday’s midnight deadline– Saturday being the one year-anniversary of President Trump’s inauguration.

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