Republicans muscled their government funding stopgap through the House on Tuesday before leaving Washington for more than a week, forcing the Senate to take up a bill Democrats say would jeopardize energy and environment projects.

The House voted 217-213, mostly along party lines, to advance a seven-month funding extension that would drop nondefense spending more than $13 billion below current levels and give the administration more leeway to allocate funds at its discretion.

Democratic leaders and environmental groups are still pushing for Congress to consider a separate, short-term continuing resolution instead, which would give lawmakers until April 11 to finalize and pass fiscal 2025 spending bills.

Republican leaders, however, say they will plow ahead with their yearlong stopgap. Senate Democrats can either help pass it or risk a shutdown.

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