By EFE
Sep 19, 2024, 08:48 AM EDT
Washington – The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday rejected a plan promoted by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to fund the government for six months and avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month due to a lack of funds.
Although Republicans have a majority in the House of Representatives, 14 members of Congress from that party joined the Democratic faction and voted against the project, causing it to fail, with 220 votes against and 202 in favor.
Johnson had bundled six months’ funding for the executive branch with a law requiring proof of citizenship for those wishing to vote in the November 5 presidential election into a single legislative package.
For months, Republicans have been promoting the idea that thousands of undocumented people will vote in the elections, even though it is illegal to vote without being a citizen and there is no evidence that this will be a problem in the elections.
Although Republican nominee and leader former President Donald Trump supported Johnson’s plan, a diverse group of lawmakers, including both hard-liners and moderate conservatives, voted against it.
The bill was also rejected by the White House and Democrats, who want the government funding extension to last only until December so they can negotiate new budgets in the winter before the inauguration of the next president.
If lawmakers fail to reach an agreement by Sept. 30, the federal government will have to shut down just over a month before the election.
The makeup of the current Congress, where Republicans control the majority of the House of Representatives and Democrats the Senate, forces lawmakers to reach agreements in order to pass any type of legislation.
Since 1976, the administration has run out of funds about 20 times, though most of the time it was only for a day. The longest shutdown, lasting 35 days, occurred under President Trump over disagreements over funding for his planned wall on the Mexican border.