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The House voted to end debate on the rules for considering a bill related to fentanyl-related substances, narrowly passing the motion 212-208.
This vote was a procedural step regarding H. Res. 93, a resolution that sets the rules for how the House will debate H.R. 27. The underlying bill, H.R. 27, aims to amend the Controlled Substances Act to address fentanyl-related substances by changing how they are classified under federal law. In the House of Representatives, 'ordering the previous question' is a common move to end discussion on a topic. When this motion passes, it stops any further debate or changes to the proposal and forces an immediate vote on the matter at hand. If it fails, control of the floor usually shifts to the opposing party, allowing them to offer their own changes. The motion passed by a very slim margin of just four votes. In a rare occurrence for this type of procedural vote, both the Democratic and Republican parties were internally split, with members from both sides of the aisle voting both for and against ending the debate. This result allowed the House to move directly to a final vote on the rule itself.
The House immediately proceeded to a final vote on agreeing to the resolution (H. Res. 93).
OPEN BILL →Democrats. The Democratic caucus was divided, with 109 voting in favor and 100 voting against.
Republicans. The Republican caucus was also nearly split, with 107 voting in favor and 106 voting against.
On Ordering the Previous Question
Feb 5, 2025
The House voted to end debate on the rules for considering a bill related to fentanyl-related substances, narrowly passing the motion 212-208.
Ordering the 'previous question' is a motion to end debate on the current matter and proceed to an immediate vote. It is a critical step the majority party usually uses to maintain control of the legislative schedule and prevent the opposition from altering the terms of debate.
The House immediately proceeded to a final vote on agreeing to the resolution (H. Res. 93).
Both parties were almost perfectly split internally, creating an unusual bipartisan coalition to pass the motion by a single-digit margin.
The Democratic caucus was divided, with 109 voting in favor and 100 voting against.
The Republican caucus was also nearly split, with 107 voting in favor and 106 voting against.
The lone independent member voted in favor of the motion.