Party On

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By Madeline HalpertBBC News, New York

The US House of Representatives has passed a short-term funding bill in a bid to avert a Government shutdown that looms on Friday, despite a major Republican revolt.

The measure, proposed by new House Speaker Mike Johnson in his first major test, was approved by 336 votes to 95.

It keeps federal agencies open at current spending until mid-January.

The stopgap measure must be approved by The Senate and President Joe Biden before it takes effect.

If lawmakers fail to pass a plan before Government funding expires on 17 November, tens of thousands of federal employees would be off work without pay as soon as next week and various Government services would be abruptly suspended.

The vote required a two-thirds majority to pass. On Tuesday night, 93 Republicans opposed the measure.

The Bill faced criticism from The Conservative House Freedom Caucus , in part because it does not include the steep spending cuts they had been advocating for.

Neither does The Bill include President Joe Biden 's request for More Than $100bn in funding, including for Ukraine, Israel and US border security.

But House Democrats sided with Mr Johnson, citing the need to keep the Government functioning.

In a statement released before the vote, the Democratic leadership said it would support The Resolution because it was " devoid of harmful cuts and free of extreme right-wing policy riders".

" We have consistently made clear that a Government shutdown would hurt the economy, our National Security and everyday Americans during a very fragile time and must be avoided, " The House Democrats said.

The vote marked The First major test of leadership for the new Republican House Speaker, Mr Johnson.

His unusual two-tiered plan leaves parts of the Government - including the Food and Drug Administration, Veterans Affairs and The Department of Transportation - funded until a January deadline, while others would be funded up to early February.

The staggered dates have been agreed to give lawmakers time to prepare longer-term spending bills.

Mr Johnson's continuing resolution is a so-called " clean" bill with no spending cuts, policy provisions or other Strings Attached .

The Speaker's approach of overriding The Right flank of his party to pass a funding bill with Democratic support led to the removal of his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, in October.

" We're not surrendering, " Mr Johnson said after a closed-door meeting of House Republicans on Tuesday morning, " but you have to choose fights you can win. "

The new House Speaker is three weeks into The Job , but the discontent from the ultra-conservatives in his Party On Tuesday indicated his political honeymoon could be short-lived.

Texas congressman Chip Roy , an influential conservative, told reporters The House Freedom Caucus was " trying to give the speaker a little grace" but argued that " today's a mistake, right out of the gate".

The Republican Party has experienced a tumultuous two months After Eight right-wing Republicans voted to oust Mr McCarthy.

Tensions flared before the vote on Tuesday, when right-wing congressman in the back while he stood in the halls of Congress.

The Incident led another Republican lawmaker, Matt Gaetz , to file an ethics complaint.

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Source of news: bbc.com