The United States Congress is once again gaining time to avoid the partial closure of the Administration.
Republicans and Democrats have joined forces in the Senate and the House of Representatives to approve a new extension that allows the normal operation of public services to be maintained while budget laws are approved.
The hard wing of the Republican Party has rejected the new extension, a measure similar to the one that once cost Kevin McCarthy the position of president of the House of Representatives, but which has already been replicated twice by his successor, Mike Johnson.
Congressional leaders had already reached an agreement last weekend to approve this extension, called a continuing resolution.
Finally, when put to a vote, it was approved by 77 votes to 18 in the Senate and by 314 to 108 in the House of Representatives.
The rejection has been concentrated in the Republican Party, especially its hardline wing.
“It's Groundhog Day in the House of Representatives all the time, every day, once again spending money we don't have,” said Chip Roy, one of the leaders of the hardline.
Shortly before the vote, the House Freedom Caucus announced that it “strongly” opposed the measure because it would facilitate more spending than they advocate.
They are basically the same ones who voted against the first and second extensions, although the rejection has grown even with respect to those votes.
In the House of Representatives, 107 Republicans voted in favor and 106 against, while among Democrats there were 207 votes in favor and only two against.
Mike Johnson justified himself this week after the agreement with the Democrats: “We just needed a little more time on the calendar to do it and that's where we are.
“We are not going to get everything we want.”
The extension extends until March 1 for some federal agencies where the spending authorization ended this Friday and until March 8 for most of the Administration.
The United States does not have one budget law, but a dozen, but is systemically unable to approve them in time for the start of the fiscal year, on October 1.
The usual thing is to approve a budget extension, called a continuing resolution, while the laws that authorize the expenses of the year are processed, which usually follow a cumbersome and complex procedure, full of amendments.
In parallel, Democrats and Republicans have reached an agreement in principle to set a spending level for the new budget laws, at 1.66 trillion dollars.
The most radical Republicans also reject the agreement and, in any case, it remains to agree on the distribution of that money in the different items.
Aside from the annual budget bills, US President Joe Biden has asked Congress to approve a fund of more than $110 billion, including more than $64 billion to help Ukraine repel the Russian invasion. .
Another 14 billion would go to support Israel in its offensive in Gaza.
And 6 billion dollars would be used on the border with Mexico.
Biden received the Democratic and Republican leaders of Congress this Wednesday at the White House to redouble the pressure to approve this increasingly urgent aid for Ukraine.
At the end of the meeting, the Republicans said that the conversations had been “productive,” but they insisted on their request to approve a tough reform of border legislation first.
Biden declared himself “encouraged” by the progress in negotiations between the two parties.
Follow all the international information on
and
X
, or in
our weekly newsletter
.