The House managed to pass stopgap funding Friday, December 20, to avoid the shutdown that otherwise would begin at midnight. GOP lawmakers suggested Friday morning that a new deal was in the works, and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), specifically, said that the vote could come by 10 A.M. That didn’t happen, of course. The House convened at 9 A.M. and recessed at 9:12. Though reports later in the morning indicated a deal had been reached, the House didn’t reconvene until almost 5 P.M. for debate.
The vote was called just after 5:30. Despite all their outspoken opposition during the 40-minute debate phase, more Democrats voted for the continuing resolution than Republicans, making this an overwhelmingly bipartisan measure. This essentially saved the spending package, since 34 Republicans opposed it. The resolution needed a two-thirds majority to pass, and it achieved that and then some, as the final vote was 366 to 34 with one voting present.
