Speaker Mike Johnson and House GOP slammed as Congress approves of $467.5B ‘minibus’ spending bill

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: The House of Representatives passed a 'minibus' spending bill on March 6 to avoid a partial government shutdown over the weekend.

According to NBC News, the 'minibus' is a package of six appropriations bills that were negotiated between the Republican-led House and the Democratic-controlled Senate, and backed by President Joe Biden.

The 1,050-page bill was released on March 3, 2024, and went through with a majority vote of 339 - 85, after facing opposition from conservative Republicans, reported the New York Post. Among those who supported the bill were 207 Democrats and 132 Republicans.

Which government departments get funded by the minibus bill?

The package which is worth $467.5 billion is intended to see through the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Transportation, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development and Justice, as well as military construction, to the end of September, keeping funding levels roughly the same.

A second minibus, with six remaining spending bills, is yet to be negotiated by the House and Senate appropriators ahead of a separate shutdown deadline, midnight of March 22. Those bills fund the Defense, State and Homeland Security departments, and Health and Human Services, among others, and are expected to face stronger opposition.

The first bill was passed using a fast-track process, also called suspending the rules, that required a higher two-thirds majority to pass.

House Speaker Mike Johnson defends the bill

While many from the GOP oppose the bipartisan spending deal, Speaker Mike Johnson reminded that the political "reality" is that Washington has a divided government, and only a two-vote Republican majority, "one of the smallest in history in the House.”

“We have to be realistic about what we’re able to achieve,” he said, emphasizing a 10% cut to the Environmental Protection Agency, a 7% cut to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and a 6% cut to the FBI.

His Republican supporters have noted that it was the first time since 2018 that the government had not been funded through one massive omnibus package.

“You can’t turn an aircraft carrier overnight. So what we did was we broke the omnibus fever. We’re very happy now that we’re finally to the point we can move beyond — get FY ‘24 done and then turn our attention to FY ‘25,” Johnson stated at his weekly news conference.

Internet reacts to passing the 'minibus' bill

Republicans on the internet were furious with Johnson and his allies for the 'minibus' bill.

"What a huge disappointment @SpeakerJohnson turned out to be," wrote a social media user.

"Looks like Mike fits right in with the DC club," jibed another.

"SPEAKER JOHNSON LIED TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE! NO MINIBUS APPROPRIATIONS BILLS WILL BE PASSED ON THE FLOOR OF THE HOUSE!!! LIAR," exclaimed a third.

"Seriously! You have the nerve to post this. You didn't hold the line and passed the minibus without any border control. You just gave away any leverage we had AT OUR EXPENSE! How many dollars of earmarks in the bill Mike?!!!!! And the reductions you cited amount to nothing," expressed a fourth.

"This is an absolute joke… all those are just rino and dem wishlist, nothing that helps the country ….. Jesus Christ I’m down with the GOP…. DJT is the only person we can trust," commented a fifth.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.