House to Vote on Short-Term Spending Bill to Avert a Shutdown

The House is set on Wednesday to vote on a short-term spending bill that would avert a government shutdown just ahead of the November elections but punt a bigger funding fight to the end of the year.

Unable to break through a wall of conservative opposition to any measure that would significantly cut federal spending, Speaker Mike Johnson is once again turning to Democrats to supply the bulk of the votes to keep federal funding flowing through Dec. 20.

After it appeared that a critical mass of conservatives could move to block consideration of the bill on the House floor, Mr. Johnson opted to bypass them entirely. He plans to bring the legislation to a vote on Wednesday evening using a special procedure that requires the support of two-thirds of those voting to pass.

It is the continuation of a long-running saga that has bedeviled House Republican leaders, both Mr. Johnson and Speaker Kevin McCarthy before him.

Since gaining control of the House nearly two years ago, Republican leaders have been forced time and time again to rely on Democrats to provide most of the votes on bills to avert shutdowns. A significant number of conservatives in the House G.O.P. conference are fundamentally opposed to legislation that does not mandate deep cuts to federal spending and routinely try to block such measures from even being considered.

Mr. Johnson on Tuesday called the legislation, known as a continuing resolution, “a very narrow, bare-bones C.R. to do only what’s absolutely necessary.”

“It would be political malpractice to shut the government down,” he said. “I think everyone understands that, and so we hope that this will get done quickly, and we get everybody back home to their districts to work into the campaign trail.”

The bill also