$1.7-Trillion Omnibus Bill Passes Senate With Support from 18 GOP Senators

Micky Wootten | December 22, 2022 | 4:28pm EST
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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnel (R-Ky.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnel (R-Ky.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)

(CNS News) - On Dec. 22, the U.S. Senate voted to pass a $1.7-trillion omnibus bill to fund the government for fiscal year 2023 by a vote of 68 to 29, with three senators not voting.  The fiscal year ends on Sept. 30, 2023.

All 50 Democrat senators were joined by the following 18 Republican senators in voting “yes” on the spending bill:

            Roy Blunt (Mo.)

            John Boozman (Ark.)

            Shelley Moore Capito (W. Va.)

            Susan Collins (Maine)

            John Cornyn (Texas)

            Tom Cotton (Ark)

            Lindsey Graham (S.C.)

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) voted for the $1.7-trillion spending bill. (Getty Images)
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) voted for the $1.7-trillion spending bill. (Getty Images)

            Jim Inhofe (Okla.)

            Mitch McConnell (Ky.)

            Jerry Moran (Kan.)

            Lisa Murkowski (Alaska)

            Rob Portman (Ohio)

            Mitt Romney (Utah)

(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

            Mike Rounds (S.D.)

            Richard Shelby (Ala.)

            John Thune (S.D.)

            Roger Wicker (Miss.)

            Todd Young (Ind.)

The following three GOP Senators did not vote:

John Barrasso (Wyo.)

Richard Burr (N.C.)

Kevin Cramer (N.D.)                      

Senators Burr, Blunt, Shelby, Ihofe, and Portman are all outgoing senators.

The full-text of the 4,155-page omnibus bill was released to lawmakers early in the morning on Dec. 20, just two days before they voted on it.

GOP lawmakers in the House and Senate have spent the past week riling up opposition to the bill and attempting to place enough pressure on the GOP to gather the “no” votes needed to block the measure.

One of these lawmakers was Representative Chip Roy (R-Texas), who led a letter signed by 13 GOP House members threatening to whip votes against the legislative priorities of any GOP senator who votes in favor of the omnibus bill.

“Kill this terrible bill or there is no point in pretending we are a united party, and we must prepare for a new political reality,” the 13 lawmakers wrote. 

House Minority Leader and potential Speaker of the House in the 118th Congress Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) re-tweeted the letter, vowing that any bills from GOP senators who vote yes on the omnibus “will be dead on arrival,” if he becomes Speaker.

Senate Republicans did not appear to be swayed by this move, with Senator Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) referring to the lawmakers’ remarks as “chest thumping and immaturity.”

Shortly after the omnibus vote was announced, Roy tweeted a list of the names of the18 GOP senators who voted “yes” on the bill.             

This was the last Senate vote of the 117th Congress as the lawmakers now head home for Christmas. New members will be sworn into the 118th Congress in January 2023. 

The bill now moves to the House of Representatives, where it is expected to pass sometime late in the evening on Dec. 22 or early morning on Dec. 23, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). 

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