Boehner To ‘Roll The Dice,’ Move Forward On Cromnibus Vote Tonight With Backup Plan In Tow

UPDATE: The omnibus spending bill has passed the House, 219 votes to 206.

Speaker John Boehner will “roll the dice” and bring the 1,774-page $1.1 trillion cromnibus spending deal bill to the floor on Thursday night, and if it fails–as many expect it will–then Republicans will pass a short-term Continuing Resolution that funds the government at current levels for three months.

“House Republicans will roll the dice, vote on the cromnibus,” Politico’s Jake Sherman Tweets. “Move to three-month stop-gap bill if it fails.”

“House Rs are really rolling the dice by voting on the omnibus, but they do have the 3-month CR ready,” Sherman added.

Boehner’s spokesman Michael Steel told Politico earlier that he expects “the bill to pass with bipartisan support today, but if it does not, we will pass a short-term CR to avoid a government shutdown.” 

“The length and other details of that bill have not been determined,” Steel said.

Sources across Capitol Hill tell Breitbart News that the CR fallback plan would fund the government until Feb. 27 next year, a few weeks after the new GOP-controlled Senate and emboldened House majority takes over.

The decision to bring the bill up for a vote tonight comes after the House recessed after debate on the bill shortly after 2 p.m., a clear indication Boehner didn’t have the votes at the time. It’s unclear what will happen on Thursday night, but the vote on the rule–a normally purely procedural matter–almost failed earlier in the day.

Boehner spent several hours working Democrats and Republicans for the cromnibus bill, and President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden–among other White House officials–personally called Democrats pressuring them to support it. Nancy Pelosi is opposed to the bill, but her top lieutenant Steny Hoyer is in favor of it. White House chief of staff Denis McDonough appeared at a Capitol Hill conference meeting of Democrats, pressuring them to support to the bill. 

This all comes after a secret meeting in GOP Whip Steve Scalise’s office, from which audible cheering could be heard according to Fox News’ Chad Pergram.