House Passes $1.7 Trillion Omnibus Spending Bill To Keep Government Running 

December 23, 2022

The House passed by a vote of 225-201 the massive, $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill on Friday, keeping the government functioning past midnight and through the fall of 2023.

The vote was along mostly partisan lines, with nine Republicans voting yes and just one Democrat—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York—voting no. 

The Senate passed the bill Thursday evening, so it next goes to President Biden’s desk for his signature.

It was to be the last legislation passed under Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who was set to pass the House Democratic Leadership baton to Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York in the 118th Congress.

Current House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), meanwhile, has been actively campaigning to replace Pelosi as Speaker when Republicans take majority control of the House on January 3, and he spent some 25 minutes on Friday criticizing the omnibus for spending too much and doing too little to curb illegal immigration and secure the southern border, in an appeal to conservatives in his party.

The massive bill wraps together 12 appropriations bills, including disaster relief for communities recovering from hurricanes, flooding and wildfires. 

It also includes roughly $45 billion in aid for Ukraine and NATO allies—even more than the Biden Administration had requested.

Further, the thousands of pages of legislation contain scores of policy changes, including reforms to the 1887 Electoral College Act, meant to prevent another attempt to overturn a Presidential election, as former President Trump and his associates tried to do on January 6, 2021.

Read more exclusive news from Political IQ.

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