Following opposition from President-elect Donald Trump to a continuing resolution (CR) funding the government until March 2025 that was released on Tuesday and included provisions reauthorizing the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and extending the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (FinCEN) beneficial ownership reporting deadline to January 1, 2026, House Republicans drafted a new bill that removed these and other provisions.
Last night, however, the House rejected this updated CR by a vote of 174 to 235, with 38 Republicans joining 197 Democrats to defeat the bill. The legislation would have extended government funding that is set to expire at midnight tonight until March 14, 2025, suspended the debt limit through January 30, 2027, and extended the 2018 Farm Bill until September 2025. Last night’s failed CR was an attempt to satisfy Trump’s demand for a revised funding measure that would obviate the need for him to negotiate with Democrats over the nation’s debt ceiling once he takes office. The morass over funding the government is calling into question whether Mike Johnson (R-LA) will be reelected Speaker of the House. Even before last night’s embarrassing defeat, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) announced he would not support Johnson for Speaker next Congress and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) suggested Elon Musk should serve as House Speaker. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) also slammed Speaker Johnson for having “cooked up” a massive CR full of Democratic priorities, declaring “we need to have a serious look at who is leading this Congress.”