The House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution Thursday that would keep the government running through February, but the bill faces an uncertain fate in the Senate, where a group of conservative Republicans is threatening to force a shutdown if Democrats don't move to de
Nancy Pelosi talks to reporters on December 2.
The images are from the same company.
The short-term continuing resolution passed the House with all Democrats and one Republican voting for approval, just hours after it was released.
The bill would extend federal funding from December 3 to February 18 in order to prevent a weekend shutdown and give lawmakers more than two months to approve a full-year budget, but there is no provision to defund vaccine mandates.
The continuing resolution will go to the Senate, where at least two GOP lawmakers have pledged to not vote without the vaccine mandate provision, even if it means prolonging the procedural process past the Friday night deadline.
As the House rushed to pass the bill, one of the conservatives, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), said on the chamber floor that he would not support, grant consent to, or expedite a measure that funds Biden.
Senate Minority LeaderMitch McConnell said a government shutdown wouldn't happen, but when asked by reporters if he believed it would happen, Biden said he didn't believe it would happen.
It is possible that at least one of the senators necessary for an objection could delay a streamlined resolution and force a shutdown through at least Sunday, according to a Democratic staffer.
A small number of conservatives have used the looming deadline as leverage to end Biden's vaccine mandates, because Congress failed to approve a spending measure by the end of the fiscal year. A group of fifteen Republican Senators signed a letter last month condemning the president's campaign to punish unvaccinated Americans and promising to reject any legislation that funds or enables enforcement of the mandates. The movement picked up steam this week after the House Freedom Caucus asked McConnell to use all procedural tools to deny the timely passage of a short-term continuing resolution unless it prohibits funding for mandates.
Chief critic.
The vaccines are protecting Americans from harms of Covid-19, but also that the government has no business, no authority and no justification to make millions of Americans second class, unemployable pariahs even if the federal government did have that authority.
The number is big.
100 million. Roughly how many Americans are covered by Biden's vaccine mandates, which apply to healthcare workers, federal employees and contractors. The White House says the orders would increase vaccination rates and protect workers, but they have faced setbacks in the courts. A judge temporarily blocked the mandates for workers at healthcare facilities on Tuesday.
Conservatives are threatening a government shutdown over Biden's vaccine mandates.
Lawmakers are racing to prevent a government shutdown this weekend.
