House Defeats Stopgap Bill to Fund Government

A bill that would fund the U.S. government past Sept. 30 unexpectedly failed in the House of Representatives on Wednesday as dozens of Republicans broke with party leaders to push for deeper spending cuts.

The measure failed by a vote of 195 to 230.

The surprise outcome was an embarassment for House Republican leaders who have at times struggled to rein in conservative members on spending issues.

The bill would have funded the government at an annual rate of $1.043 trillion, in line with a bipartisan agreement reached in August. Many conservatives had sought to go further.

Republican leaders also got little help from Democrats, who objected to a $1.5 billion cut to an electric vehicle loan program. Republicans included the cut to offset the cost of increased disaster aid.