House GOP leaders on Tuesday narrowly gathered enough support to adopt a rule allowing their side’s bills to come to the floor, after concerns related to a stopgap spending bill to keep the government funded through the midterm elections nearly derailed the procedural resolution.
After resounding passage of the stopgap bill, the rule for debate on four other measures barely squeaked by with a 210-208 vote.
Provisions added to the continuing resolution by the Senate before that chamber left for August recess, as well as the manner of bringing the measure to the floor Tuesday, led to a mini-revolt on the Republican side.
In the end, five Republicans defected on the rule, not enough to sink it given the surprise addition of two Democratic yes votes: Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington and Jared Golden of Maine.
Golden and Gluesenkamp Perez, who represent GOP-leaning districts, typically vote with the Republicans on legislation. But rule votes are usually party-line affairs that rarely see any Democrats cross the aisle.
