The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed a $1.2 trillion appropriations bill to keep the government funded through September, giving the Democratic-dominated Senate hours to act before a deadline. – midnight – when a partial government shutdown will follow, Reuters and News.ro report.

The legislation, which passed by a vote of 286 to 134, marks the end of a more than six-month battle over the amount of Washington’s spending for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.

The current 1,012-page bill provides $886 billion in funding for the Defense Department, including an increase in the budget for the U.S. military. The funds also cover agencies from the Department of Homeland Security, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Department of Justice, as well as the State Department and the Treasury Department. The funding would add to the rapidly growing national debt, which now stands at nearly $34.6 trillion.

Ultraconservative Republicans are furious

But the move by GOP Speaker Mike Johnson, who bypassed hardliners in his caucus to pass a bill with more Democratic than Republican support, angered one of his own members, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, who called for his removal as leader. . That could set the stage for a repeat of the scenario that played out in early October, when a small group of hard-line Republicans, angered that Johnson’s predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, passed temporary government funding over his objections, finally ousted him as speaker.

The last partial shutdown of the federal government occurred during the presidency of Donald Trump, from December 22, 2018 to January 25, 2019. The record-long government shutdown came as the Republican pushed for money to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. border, but failed to reach an agreement with the Democrats.

The package for Ukraine is still waiting

Another separate and contentious hot-money issue is in Congress, where its leaders, with the exception of Johnson, are pushing for final passage of the Senate-approved $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

Some Republicans oppose continuing to support Ukraine in its war against the invading Russian military.

While conservatives managed to get Congress and Democratic President Joe Biden to agree to some spending cuts for fiscal year 2024, they had hoped for much larger savings. Their discontent led to the historic ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in October. The ensuing Republican squabbling kept the House deadlocked for three weeks as Republicans scrambled to find a replacement.

Since then, most Republicans have been reluctant to initiate a spending shutdown ahead of the November election, although Washington has gone so far four times since late September.

What would it mean to introduce a shutdown on Saturday

Rating agencies warned that this repeated situation could affect the solvency of the US government.

A government shutdown starting Saturday will mean most U.S. Border Patrol and immigration agents will continue to work. But local governments may no longer receive funding to accommodate migrants.

American soldiers and all federal workers will not be paid until new funding is approved and national parks are closed. The situation would be the same for two American astronauts aboard the International Space Station at an altitude of 409 km above the Earth.

In the meantime, the tax office will continue processing tax returns due on April 15. It would inform taxpayers about possible delays in refunds.

At the State Department, security at embassies and other foreign offices will remain in place, and passports and visas will be issued as long as there are sufficient fees to support these activities. However, many other operations will cease.