By Anita Hamilton

The House of Representatives narrowly passed a spending bill that will fund the federal government through Sept. 30, largely along party lines. The vote was 217-213, with just one Republican, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, opposing it, and just one Democrat, Jared Golden of Maine, voting for it.

The bill now moves to the Senate, where the outcome is highly uncertain. It needs 60 votes to pass. With just 53 Republicans in the upper chamber, and one, Rand Paul of Kentucky saying he is opposed, Republicans will need several Democratic senators to vote for the bill to push it through. Pennsylvania's John Fetterman, a Democrat, has already indicated he will support it. That still leaves Republicans seven votes short.

While the bill calls for spending much the same as current levels, it would increase defense outlays by around $6 billion, while lowering nondefense spending by $13 billion compared with 2024 fiscal year levels. Pay increases for junior enlisted military personnel and increased funding for "air-traffic control priorities" are some of the areas where the bill seeks to raise outlays.

If passed, the bill would fund the government through Sept. 30, the end of the current fiscal year.

Ahead of Tuesday's vote, House Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York urged members to oppose the bill.

"The Republican bill dramatically cuts health care, nutritional assistance for children and families and veterans benefits," he said Monday. "It is not something we could ever support. House Democrats will not be complicit in the Republican effort to hurt the American people."

In a fact sheet laying out her opposition to the bill, Democrat Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, ranking member on the House Appropriations Committee, said the bill gives President Donald Trump and his efficiency chief Tesla CEO Elon Musk "even more leeway to shut off and repurpose funding as they see fit."

Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia also criticized the bill, writing on X, "This is a shutdown bill that's bad for the economy -- let Trump shutdown whatever he wants, hurting everyday folks to use money for tax breaks for the uber-rich."

Trump, meanwhile, urged lawmakers to pass the continuing resolution. "I am asking you all to give us a few months to get us through to September so we can continue to put the Country's 'financial house' in order. Democrats will do anything they can to shut down our Government, and we can't let that happen," he wrote on Truth Social on Saturday.

If the Senate doesn't pass the bill by midnight Friday, some federal workers could be furloughed without pay until funding is resumed. Shutdown odds look relatively low for now. The betting site Polymarket put them at 26% as of Tuesday evening.

Write to Anita Hamilton at anita.hamilton@barrons.com

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March 11, 2025 18:03 ET (22:03 GMT)

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