UPDATE: The Senate approved the government funding bill early Saturday morning, and it now goes to President Joe Biden, who said he would quickly sign it into law.
The bill passed 74-24 in the Senate. Georgia’s Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock both voted with the majority.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House avoided a partial government shutdown Friday, narrowly passing a $1.2 trillion spending package.
And once again, more Democrats than Republicans voted in favor of a spending bill GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson helped negotiate and publicly backed.
But this time, passage came with a threat from U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to have Johnson removed from his post. Greene, a Rome Republican, filed a document prior to the budget vote indicating she would bring to the floor a motion to remove Johnson as speaker, although she didn’t move forward immediately to have the motion read.
Greene told reporters she believes Johnson should be replaced because the funding bills he has brought to the floor reflect the priorities of Democrats and not conservative Republicans.
“They just passed a funding bill that doesn’t secure our border and does nothing to stop the daily invasion” of immigrants arriving without paperwork, she said. She also criticized the package for not limiting access to abortion or including language to prohibit treatment for transgender children.
The $1.2 trillion funding bill, which required a two-thirds vote to be approved, passed 286-134. More Republicans, 112, voted against the measure than the 101 who voted for it. Twenty-two Democrats also opposed the bill.
In Georgia’s delegation, only two Republicans supported the funding package: Reps. Buddy Carter of St. Simons Island and Drew Ferguson of The Rock. All five Democrats in the delegation also voted “yes.”
Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton, was among the GOP lawmakers who voted against the bill. Earlier this month, he backed a separate “minibus” package that funded about 30% of the federal government.
Scott did not immediately respond to a request for comment about his vote.
The bill the House approved Friday would fund the remaining 70%. It now goes to the Senate, where all members must agree in order for a vote to be fast-tracked.
If the package is not approved by midnight, the affected agencies will be forced to shut down. However, the effects of a partial government shutdown will not become noticeable until early next week.
Following the vote, the House adjourned for a two-week recess with members due back April 9.
Greene said she will eventually move forward with calling for a vote to oust Johnson. If more than a few Republicans join her, he would need the help of Democrats to remain speaker.
“It’s the fight I want to have in an election year because ... I want to win the House, I want to win the White House, I want to win the Senate and I want to restore this country back to greatness again,” she said. “Back to safety, back to security for every single American because right now we don’t have it.”
Johnson was voted in as speaker in October after weeks of chaos that followed the ouster of then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., when hard-line Republicans joined with Democrats to vote him out. The far-right wing of the GOP caucus was furious with McCarthy over his reliance last fall on Democratic votes to avoid a government shutdown.
HOW THEY VOTED ON THE GOVERNMENT FUNDING MINIBUS, H.Res. 1102
“Yes”
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Atlanta
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Atlanta
U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island
U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-The Rock
U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Lithonia
U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta
U.S. Rep. David Scott, D-Atlanta
U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta
“No”
U.S. Rep. Rick Allen, R-Augusta
U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Athens
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Jackson
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome
U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville
U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Suwanee
U.S. Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton
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