House Moves Closer to Ending Partial Government Shutdown as Trump Urges GOP Unity
A fragile path to ending the partial government shutdown is emerging, with House Republicans advancing a Senate-passed funding bill Monday night after former President Donald Trump stepped in to quell a potential rebellion within GOP ranks.
The House Rules Committee advanced the funding package in an 8-4 vote along party lines, setting up a full chamber vote that Speaker Mike Johnson hopes will happen “at least by Tuesday.” The package already cleared the Senate with substantial bipartisan support in a 71-29 vote last week.
Trump’s intervention proved crucial in preventing last-minute changes that threatened to derail the agreement. “There can be NO CHANGES at this time,” the former president posted on social media, effectively directing Republican lawmakers to fall in line behind the current proposal.
GOP Holdouts Change Course
The Trump directive appears to have worked. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who had previously threatened to oppose the measure, confirmed a change in position, stating: “As of right now, with the current agreement that we have, as well as discussions, we will both be a yes on the rule.” Luna indicated that both she and Rep. Tim Burchett would support the procedural vote after receiving certain assurances from leadership.
Why does this matter? The narrow Republican majority in the House means that even a handful of defections could sink the legislation, potentially prolonging the partial shutdown that has affected numerous federal agencies and their employees.
Speaker Johnson has expressed growing confidence in the bill’s prospects. During a Tuesday morning appearance, he indicated he believes the House can approve the Senate-passed spending bill “sometime today,” suggesting the timeline may be accelerating.
Still, the path to passage hasn’t been entirely smooth. Johnson earlier acknowledged it would be “a few days” before the government funding package comes up for a vote, blaming procedural requirements and the need to build consensus among his fractious caucus.
What’s Next?
The House is now poised to vote on the package that could finally end the partial shutdown that has dragged on longer than many expected. If approved without changes, the bill would go straight to President Biden for his signature.
Johnson’s leadership has been under intense scrutiny throughout this process, with the speaker walking a tightrope between pragmatic governance and appeasing the more conservative elements of his caucus who demanded deeper spending cuts and policy concessions.
For federal workers affected by the shutdown, the vote can’t come soon enough. Thousands have been furloughed or working without pay since funding for several departments lapsed at the beginning of the fiscal year.
In a capital where partisan gridlock has become the norm, the likely resolution of this shutdown offers a rare moment of functional governance—but one that required the intervention of a former president to push his party toward the finish line.
