House approves $1.7 trillion federal budget

The House on Friday passed the massive $1.7 trillion measure to fund the government as they raced to hold a final vote ahead of a monster storm bearing down on the East Coast. 

The measure now goes to President Joe Biden, who said he will sign it into law. 

The final vote was 225 yes to 201 nays and one present. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was the only Democrat to vote no. Nine Republicans voted yes.

Additionally, more than half of the lawmakers in the House, 230, voted via a proxy, taking advange COVID-related rules to beat the storm and get out of the Capitol.

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was the only Democrat to vote no on budget

But House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy tried to hold up action to give voice to his party’s objections to the spending plan – a move that could solid up his support among Republican lawmakers as he seeks their vote to become speaker.

He spoke for 24 minutes on the House floor where he described the budget as a ‘monstrosity’ filled with ‘woke handouts [that] should not be funded by taxpayers.’

The Senate passed the federal budget on Thursday and promptly left Washington D.C. before a nationwide ‘bomb’ snowstorm grounded flights and closed runways.

But many conservative senators voted no on the budget, arguing it was too costly and that any final agreement should wait until Republicans take control of the House on Jan. 3 and have more leverage in negotiations.

Democrats have enough votes in the House to pass the budget without GOP help. 

But Republicans can drag out the debate process leading up to that final vote as their way of objecting to the measure.  

In addition to McCarthy’s speech, the GOP can do things like make a motion to adjourn the House. 

Democrats can easily vote that down but it would eat up time to hold an actual vote on the measure. 

McCarthy is courting conservative lawmakers to support his bid to become speaker next year.

After he finished speaking on the House floor, Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern rolled his eyes and said: ‘After listening to that, it’s clear he doesn’t have the votes yet.’ 

House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy voiced his objections on the House floor

A massive storm known as a bomb cyclone has put about two-thirds of the U.S. population under winter weather warnings – above snow falls in Buffalo, N.Y.

Meanwhile, a massive storm known as a bomb cyclone, has put about two-thirds of the U.S. population under winter weather warnings. Frigid temperatures are expected in the Midwest and the South. More than a million people are without power.

The House, unlike the Senate however, still allows proxy voting – a practice that began during the COVID pandemic. Lawmakers can designate another lawmaker to vote for them. 

On Thursday, 166 members of the House voted by proxy – about 39% of the chamber.

Also on Friday, the House joined the Senate in approving a stopgap spending bill to keep the government funded and running through December 30th.

This is because government funding expires at midnight on Friday and the process to enrol the budget takes time. So the stopgap measure will keep operations rolling while the legislative process finishes playing out. 

President Joe Biden is expected to sign both the stopgap and the federal budget. 

The Senate passed the budget by a vote of 68-29 on Thursday.

It includes about $772.5 billion for domestic programs and $858 billion for defense and would finance federal agencies through the fiscal year at the end of September. 

The measure also includes about $45 billion in military, economic and humanitarian assistance Ukraine – more than Biden requested. It raises total assistance so far to more than $100 billion. 

Travelers check into their flights at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, as flights get cancelled

A jogger runs along Lake Michigan in Chicago as the country braces for cold weather

And it revises federal election law to prevent any future presidents or presidential candidates from trying to overturn an election. It is in direct response to former President Donald Trump´s efforts to convince Republican lawmakers and then-Vice President Mike Pence to object to the certification of Biden´s victory on Jan. 6, 2021.

During that budget debate, an attempt by Republican senators to add an amendment that would extend Title 42 – the Trump era policy that uses the COVID pandemic to turn away migrants at the border – was defeated.

Another amendment that would boost funds for border enforcement was also defeated.