Congress races to pass spending bill as shutdown looms

The House of Representatives has approved a spending package that will fund the US government through September.

It is the first step in a race by legislators in the US Congress to beat a midnight deadline that would trigger a partial shutdown of the US government.

The final vote was 286 to 134, narrowly above the two-thirds majority needed. All but 23 Democrats backed the legislation, while 112 Republicans voted no.

The package now moves to the Democrat-controlled Senate, where it is expected to have sufficient support to pass Friday evening.

The $1.2tn (£951bn) legislation was the result of bipartisan negotiations and funds a broad swath of federal services through October, including a 3% increase in US defence funding.

The vote was yet another example of the difficulties the narrow Republican majority in the House of Representatives has had in approving new spending legislation since taking control of the chamber last year.

A small but vocal group of conservatives has opposed proposed increases in government spending and called for new legislation to include chances to the US immigration law to address a surge of undocumented migrants at the US border.

"No Republican in the House of Representatives in good conscience can vote for this bill," said Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia during Friday debate on the House package.

"It is a complete departure of all our principles."

During a Friday morning radio interview, Ms Greene threatened to file motion that would force a new election for speaker of the House.

That was a tactic hard-line Republicans used last year to oust then-speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was replaced by Mike Johnson of Louisiana after weeks of acrimony.

The Georgia congresswoman has taken the first procedural step to follow through on her threat, setting up what could be another bitter Republican leadership battle in the chamber - this time just months before November's US elections.

The House vote on Friday continues the trend in recent government-funding fights of Democrats joining some Republicans to approve legislation to avert a shutdown.

Unlike recent votes, however, a majority of House Republicans opposed a funding bill negotiated by their own party.

If the Senate fails to approve the legislation, operational funding would cease for some parts of the US government, although the full impact would not be felt until the new work week begins on Monday.