House passes $1.1T government spending bill, sends to Senate

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House easily passed a $1.1 trillion governmentwide spending bill late today, awarding wins to both Democrats and Republicans while putting off until later this year fights over President Donald Trump's promised border wall with Mexico and massive military buildup.

The 309-118 vote sends the bill to the Senate in time for them to act to avert a government shutdown at midnight Friday. The White House has said Trump would sign the measure, which is the first major legislation to pass in Trump's short, turbulent presidency.

House Speaker Paul Ryan praised the measure as bipartisan, and said the biggest gain for conservatives came as Democrats dropped longstanding demands to match Pentagon increases with equal hikes for nondefense programs.

"No longer will the needs of our military be held hostage by the demands for more domestic spending," Ryan said. "In my mind, that is what's most important here."

Democrats also backed the measure, which protects popular domestic programs such as education, medical research and grants to state and local governments from cuts sought by Trump – while dropping a host of GOP agenda items found in earlier versions.

"It's imperative to note what this bill does not contain," said Rep. Nita Lowey of New York, lead negotiator for Democrats. "Not one cent for President Trump's border wall and no poison pill riders that would have prevented so-called sanctuary cities from receiving federal grants, defunded Planned Parenthood, undermined the Affordable Care Act."

The bill is the product of weeks of Capitol Hill negotiations in which top Democrats like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi successfully blocked Trump's most provocative proposals – especially the Mexico wall and cuts to popular domestic programs like community development grants.