Speaker Mike Johnson averted a potential government shutdown by passing a $460 billion federal funding bill. (Getty Images)
Funding tied to Congress’ six remaining bills, which include the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon, expires on March 22.
Fox News Digital first reported last month that House GOP leaders were planning to jettison an earlier promise to pass 12 individual spending bills, something conservatives rallied around. Sources who spoke with Fox News Digital at the time blamed the Senate’s inaction on the seven individual bills passed by the House, which included elements Democrats dismissed as "poison pills."
Confronted with the broken promise during his weekly press conference on Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson countered that change was incremental in Washington and pointed out that splitting the 12 bills into at least two packages ended the Democrat-backed tradition of folding them all into a massive "omnibus" spending bill, which has been the case since 2018.
"We committed to do 12 separate appropriations bills... the reason that it's been so difficult to do it is because Washington has no muscle memory on how to do that," Johnson said.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., touted the lack of conservative policy victories in the final deal. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
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"I am very proud to say we successfully defeated the vast majority of the extreme cuts and hundreds of harmful policy riders proposed by House Republicans," Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said before the final vote.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where it’s expected to pass, before hitting President Biden’s desk.
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
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