U.S. House Finally Passes Defense Spending Bill but Government Shutdown Still Looms

House Republicans, on their third try, finally cleared the FY2024 defense appropriations bill, last night, on a vote of 218 to 210. The vote came after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy moved to strip $300 million in funding for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative from the defense bill earlier in the day. That action was approved on a procedural vote of 217-211 and then the Ukraine aid was voted up in separate legislation by a vote of 311 to 117.