On Wednesday night, as expected, the House put the continuing resolution (CR) on the floor, and it passed.
After Donald Trump signed the bill, the longest shutdown in history officially ended.
As it turned out, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) did not even need the entire caucus to support the measure, as there were six Democrats who crossed over the aisle to approve the funding bill.
The final count on the bill was 222 “Yes” votes and 209 “No” votes.
Among the no votes were Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Gregory Steube (R-FL). I thought Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) might vote no when push came to shove because she has been adamant that she wanted the hotly contested Obama subsidies included in the CR.
The passage of the bill will reopen the government after 42 days, but this fight is still far from over.
Even though the government is now funded, there are going to be some big budgetary fights in Congress over the next few months as lawmakers try to get the healthcare subsidies nailed down.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) was among the Democrats in the Senate who crossed over to back the CR.
Even though Democrat messaging that blamed the shutdown on the GOP had been somewhat effective, Shaheen believed that the impact of the talking points had reached their limit.
She explained, “We had reached a point where, I think, a number of us believed that the shutdown had been very effective in raising the concern about health care and health insurance and the need to address that.”
The senator continued, “This gives us an opportunity to continue to address that going forward.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has promised an open debate over the subsidies, and I believe he will give that to Democrats. However, the GOP will want to cut eligibility for the subsidies considerably (they were significantly expanded in 2021 when Biden passed the American Rescue Plan via reconciliation).
Trump took no time at all to put his signature on the legislation and place this shutdown in the rearview mirror.
He stated, “It’s an honor now to sign this incredible bill and get our country working again.”
Johnson added, “We feel very relieved tonight.” Then he blasted Democrats for using the American people as leverage, adding, “It’s something that is very difficult to forgive.”
Trump needed to get this standoff behind him, and now that it is, he can focus on the economy and on bringing household costs down. The administration and the Republican Party also need to start looking at viable candidates for the House because this election is critical to the second half of Trump’s term. If the GOP loses the House, and history says it will, we will come to a grinding halt for two years, which would likely lead to a Democrat presidential win in 2028, and that is just something we cannot afford to have happen.
