The US House of Representatives today approved the 2024 federal budget by a 286-134 vote, a majority from Democrats, angering conservatives who are threatening to impeach House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green, who is close to Donald Trump, announced that she has filed a motion to remove the Republican president, accusing him of “treason”.
“We need a new president,” she told reporters, accusing the president, who has been in office since October, of being “in the arms of the Democrats.”
Congress, however, must pass this $1.2 trillion budget before midnight to avoid a partial shutdown of the federal government.
However, the timetable is still unclear regarding the holding of a vote in the Senate, fueling fears of a paralysis, even temporary, of the federal state, the so-called “shutdown”.
It is very common for last minute deals to be made in Congress and especially on budget matters.
However, federal agency workers have already been informed of the risk of a “lockout.”
“Let’s get the job done today,” urged Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.
Cancellation Procedure
The list of possible effects of a state “shutdown” is long: military and transport security employees unpaid, administrations immobilized, “freezing” of certain aids…
An unpopular situation for Americans with most of the effects felt early in the week.
The US has been struggling for months to finally pass a budget, embroiled in partisan bickering between Democratic President Joe Biden’s camp and some Republicans who favor a very strict fiscal orthodoxy.
Conservatives today strongly denounced the deal, reached between the White House and congressional leadership, which was put to a vote.
“This is a despicable attack on the American people,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, a close Trump ally, minutes before she tabled her motion to impeach House Speaker Mike Johnson, a member of her own party.
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was involved in similar budget negotiations a few months ago. The 50-year-old was ousted during a historic vote in October after being accused by congressional associates of Donald Trump of not standing up for his party’s interests.
Funding cuts for UNRWA
If passed, the bill introduced today would extend the budget through the end of the fiscal year, which is September 30.
This 1,012-page text, the fruit of very intense negotiations, includes measures that could have very serious repercussions abroad.
The text bans any direct US funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees Unrwa, which has been at the center of a standoff since Israel accused in late January 12 of its roughly 13,000 staff in Gaza of being involved in the deadly attack on the 7th October of Hamas.
The plan to ban US funding to UNRWA was heavily criticized by the left wing of the Democratic Party.
“I will vote against this bill that bans aid to children in Gaza who are starving,” progressive MP Ro Kana announced in a message to X.
The bill debated today also includes hundreds of millions of dollars for Taiwan.
As well as measures related to immigration, a burning issue in the middle of the election campaign.
It foresees, among other things, the recruitment of tens of thousands of members of the border police.
The text also provides for measures, which are not necessarily linked to the budget.
Like banning US embassies from flying the flag of the LGBTQI+ community, unlike what some used to do on the occasion of “pride month”.
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