NYTimes | Paul
D. Ryan and his fellow Republicans reclaimed control long enough to
force through a major spending bill. They then abruptly adjourned and
left the Capitol.
Furious
Democrats remained on the House floor, where they huddled around their
leader, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, who praised their
stand as a “discussion heard around the world.”
Ms.
Pelosi expressed bewilderment at the Republican position. “What could
they be thinking?” she asked. “Whatever it is, they don’t want to tell
anybody about it. That’s why they left in the dead of night.”
The
standoff, which began with a Democratic sit-in on the House floor just
before noon on Wednesday, did not end until about 3 a.m. Thursday when
Mr. Ryan — barreling over Democrats’ objections — took the rare and
provocative step of calling a vote on a major appropriations bill in the
wee hours and without any debate. He then adjourned the House, with no
legislative votes scheduled until July 5.
The
House approved the bill, which includes $1.1 billion in emergency
financing to fight the mosquito-borne Zika virus — and more than $80
billion in other government spending — by a vote of 239 to 171 shortly
after 3 a.m.
Republicans
dashed from the chamber into the sticky heat gripping Washington and
were met by protesters who jeered, with some shouting, “Do your job!”
