What to know on Day 43 of the government shutdown:
- The longest government shutdown in U.S. history could end Wednesday night, if the House approves a funding package and sends it to President Trump for his signature. The House is set to vote in the evening.
- The Senate on Monday approved the package, which extends funding for most agencies until Jan. 30, while including three full-year funding bills for some parts of the government, after weeks of opposition from Democrats. But eight Democrats ultimately embraced a deal to end the shutdown.
- The House returns Wednesday for the first time since it voted on Sept. 19 to pass a version of the bill that stalled for weeks in the Senate as it lacked enough Democratic support to get it over the finish line. A breakthrough in the seven-week stalemate came this week when several Democratic senators cut a deal with Republicans to end the shutdown.
- House Speaker Mike Johnson is set to swear in Democrat Adelita Grijalva, who was elected in September. She will be the final signature needed to seal up a discharge petition that triggers a vote on the release of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Grijalva to be sworn in today
According to a Democratic leadership aide, here's how Adelita Grijalva's swearing-in is expected to play out
The lower chamber is set to reconvene at 4 p.m., when Johnson will administer the oath of office to Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat who was elected on Sept. 23 to replace her late father. Arizona Reps. Paul Gosar, a Republican, and Greg Stanton, a Democrat, are expected to give brief remarks, followed by remarks from Grijalva.
After her remarks, Grijalva is expected to sign a petition to force a vote on releasing files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
House Rules Committee tees up floor vote
The House Rules Committee advanced the Senate-passed funding package overnight, teeing it up for floor action this afternoon. A final vote is expected this evening.
During the hours-long meeting, which began at 6:40 p.m. on Tuesday, House Democrats hammered their Republican colleagues for refusing to negotiate on the Affordable Care Act tax credits, which expire at the end of the year, and being absent from Washington for nearly eight weeks. Republicans took digs at Democrats, blaming them for unneccessarily shutting down the government to please the far left.
Among the amendments offered by Democrats during the meeting was one to extend the expiring health care tax credits for three years and another to strip a provision in the bill that would allow senators to sue for up to $500,000 for data seizures or subpoenas like those after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Both amendments failed.
Some committee Republicans denounced the provision allowing senators to sue over data seizures, but said the House couldn't amend the bill to remove it because it would prolong the shutdown if it had to be sent back to the Senate.
"It is beside my comprehension that this got put in the bill, and it's why people have such a low opinion of this town," GOP Rep. Chip Roy of Texas said. "That provision needs to get fixed, and we need to find a way as a body to get it fixed as soon as possible."
The meeting ended around 1:30 a.m. with the panel voting along party lines to advance the funding package.
House returns from nearly 2-month absence as government shutdown nears end
The House returns Wednesday for the first time since the start of the government shutdown and nearly two months after it last voted, bringing an end to the chamber's longest absence in recent memory.
The House has been out of session since Sept. 19, when it passed a Republican measure to fund the government. Arguing that the House had done its job after the vote, Johnson canceled weeks of votes and committee hearings were put on hold.
"We have a lot of business to do," Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said Monday. "There'll be long days and long nights here for the foreseeable future to make up for all this lost time that was imposed upon us."
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