Lawmakers spar over a late-night provision tucked into the funding bill
The House Rules Committee voted 8-4 early Wednesday to advance Senate-passed legislation aimed at ending the historic 42-day government shutdown, moving the measure closer to final passage.
The committee concluded its seven-hour session at 1:37 am ET, according to CNN. The full House is expected to vote on the legislation as early as 4 pm ET Wednesday before sending it to President Donald Trump for his signature.
The legislation would fund the government through Jan. 30 and provide full-year funding for some agencies, ABC News reported.
Partisan divisions persist
The Rules Committee rejected several Democratic amendments during the lengthy meeting, including a proposal to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies for three years. The vote on that amendment was 4-8 along party lines.
House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters it was his “strong expectation” that House Democrats “will be strongly opposed” to the Senate-passed bill when it reaches the House floor Wednesday.
“House Republicans, welcome back from your taxpayer-funded seven-week vacation,” Jeffries said at a Capitol press conference.
Controversial Senate provision draws criticism
Democrats criticized a provision inserted by Senate Republicans that would allow senators to sue if the Department of Justice or FBI investigates them without Senate notification. According to ABC News, senators could seek up to $500,000 in statutory damages if their phone records are subpoenaed without their knowledge.
Jeffries announced Democrats would attempt to strike the provision. “House Democrats are going to offer an amendment before the Rules Committee to get that self-dealing, sick provision out of the spending agreement,” he told reporters.
However, several House Republicans also expressed concern about the measure. “I’ve been asking questions on this since last night, and I’ll tell you, I don’t think that Senate leadership shared with the leadership of the House what they were doing,” Rep. Austin Scott said during the committee meeting.
House Appropriations chairman Tom Cole told CNN he was “surprised” to see the provision but said reopening the government was the greater priority. “Do I think it needs to be in a funding bill? Not particularly. But do I think getting the government open is important? Yes, I do.”
Air travel disruptions continue
The shutdown continues to disrupt air travel nationwide. More than 1,200 flights were canceled Tuesday as airlines complied with the FAA’s order to reduce operations by 6%, FlightAware data showed.
Transportation secretary Sean Duffy called the situation a “crisis within aviation” during a Tuesday press conference at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, CNN reported. He warned that flight reductions could increase substantially if the shutdown does not end soon.
Speaker Mike Johnson plans to swear in Arizona Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva at around 4 pm ET Wednesday, seven weeks after her election.
