US Congress 'races' before midnight to help government avoid shutdown

Part of the US government, including units of the Department of Homeland Security, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Justice, Department of State, and Department of the Treasury, will shut down at midnight on March 22 (11 a.m. on March 23, Vietnam time), if the budget allocation bill is not passed in time, according to Reuters.

The White House in Washington DC

The Republican-controlled House passed the bill by a vote of 286 to 134. The bill now moves to the Democratic-controlled Senate for consideration.

The bill's passage has caused major internal conflict within the Republican Party and put House Speaker Mike Johnson at risk of losing his job.

The bill was opposed by hardline Republican lawmakers, who voted against it. The bill passed with 185 Democrats and 101 Republicans in support.

In October 2023, then-Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy was also removed from office after his party's conservatives reacted angrily to the passage of a temporary budget to help the government avoid a shutdown.

Previously, Mr. McCarthy had to go through many rounds of voting to become Speaker of the House in January 2023. At that time, Mr. McCarthy conceded, agreeing to restore the right for any member of the party in the House to be able to propose a motion to vote to remove the speaker.

Conservative Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene announced the impeachment process for Johnson on March 22 but said she would not call for an immediate vote.

In the Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is urging his colleagues to pass the bill quickly before the deadline. "Let's get it done today, avoid a shutdown, even if it's just for the weekend. There's no reason to delay," Schumer said. President Joe Biden has said he will sign the bill if it passes Congress. The last time the US government partially shut down was in late 2018 and early 2019, when Donald Trump was president.

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