No side got everything they wanted in the recent Congressional spending bill passed by the House as Speaker Mike Johnson gave in to some Democrat demands, and strayed from some positions presidential candidate Donald Trump supported.
The new funding bill is only a three-month stopgap to keep the federal government open through December 20. What used to be uncommon in Congress is now what you might call an annual tradition—budget bills are bickered over, and temporary measures have to keep the lights on in Washington before both sides can finally agree on a stable budget.
One of the provisions Trump wanted was “absolute assurances” about the security of the presidential election. None of these appear in the bill, and neither does Trump’s suggestion to require every voter to show proof of citizenship when they cast their ballot. In a letter to Congress announcing the bill, Speaker Johnson said it was not a perfect piece of legislation, but he saw it as the “most prudent path forward” given the circumstances in Congress.
He said that history has shown that if you shut down the government less than two months before a “fateful election,” that would be to commit an act of “political malfeasance.”
The budget bill, which has not yet been released in full detail, would be “bare bones,” Johnson said. It will only include extensions of funding that are “absolutely necessary,” and Johnson said he expects the full House to pass the bill this week.
The compromise bill was necessary to avoid gridlock if hardliners insisted on keeping in provisions like Trump’s citizenship test for voting. Such a bill would be unlikely to get through both chambers, which would result in a non-functioning government during and directly after the presidential election.
The list of special provisions desired by many in Congress is quite long. Among the items that will not be funded in this budget bill are $2 billion for a submarine program, and it does not give any money to shore up the budget at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, which says it is set to come up $12 billion short.
If a spending bill is not passed, the government will shut down on October 1.
