House is poised to approve measure to end shutdown over Democrats’ opposition
WASHINGTON— The House is scheduled to resume session on Wednesday and is expected to vote in the evening on the spending package, which, if approved and signed by President Trump, would end the longest government shutdown in US history.
The bill, which the Senate passed on Monday night, is expected to narrowly pass the House, where Republicans have a slim majority. House Democrats are widely expected to oppose the deal, which does not include a key demand: an extension of the Affordable Care Act health tax credits that are scheduled to expire at the end of the year.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he believes the agreement will be signed by the end of the day.
“We believe that the long national nightmare will end tonight,” Johnson told reporters in Washington. “It was completely stupid and pointless.”
House Democrats were scheduled to meet to discuss their votes ahead of the vote. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Tuesday night that there was a “strong expectation” that Democrats would “vigorously oppose” the shutdown agreement come the final vote.
If the tax cuts expire, premiums will more than double on average for the more than 20 million Americans who use the health care marketplace, according to independent analysts at research firm KFF.
If approved, the spending bill would provide government funding through Jan. 30 and reinstate federal employees laid off during the shutdown. Federal employees who were furloughed or working without pay during the budget stalemate will also be guaranteed back pay.
Passage of the bill would be a pivotal moment in the 43rd day of a shutdown that has left thousands of federal workers without pay, millions of Americans uncertain whether they will receive food assistance and travelers facing delays at airports across the country.
Voting is expected to begin after 4 p.m. EST after Johnson swears in Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who was elected seven weeks ago. Once sworn in, Grijalva will be the final vote needed to force a floor vote on a petition demanding the Trump administration release files linked to Jeffrey Epstein.
The inauguration will soon lay the groundwork for a House vote that Trump has long tried to avoid. That would come to light on Wednesday morning, when the Epstein saga was reignited when Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released new emails in which the late sex trafficker said Trump “knew about the girls” he had victimized.
emails It’s part of a series of documents from Epstein’s estate presented to the committee.
