Congress passed a bipartisan spending bill to avert a government shutdown that would have left thousands of federal employees furloughed just days before the winter holidays.
The Senate voted 85 to 11 in favor at 12:38 a.m. Saturday.
On Friday evening, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson relied on Democratic support to pass the bill, overcoming resistance from hardline GOP representatives and multibillionaire Elon Musk who, with President-elect Donald Trump, helped kill the original bipartisan funding deal on Wednesday.
The House voted 366 to 34 to approve the measure. More Democrats than Republicans supported the stopgap bill, which required a two-thirds majority. All the “No” votes came from GOP holdouts. The bill appeared on a glide path to Senate approval early Saturday morning.
On Thursday, the House rejected a deal backed by Trump that would have kept the government’s doors open, with dozens of Republicans joining with Democrats to sink it. That bill was a slimmed-down version of a bipartisan plan, known as continuing resolution, that Trump and his allies torpedoed earlier in the week.
Hours after the successful House vote, Trump hadn’t commented on its passage.
Congress reached a bipartisan, last-minute agreement to keep the government running 38 minutes after a midnight deadline for a partial shutdown days before the end-of-year holidays and a month before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
The Senate sent the spending package to President Joe Biden’s desk after midnight on Saturday by a vote of 85 to 11, hours after the House voted 366 to 34 to approve it. Biden is expected to sign it.
Despite earlier assurances from Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate blew a midnight deadline to avoid a government shutdown. A vote to fund the government was expected before dawn Saturday.
The government appeared to be in line for a brief shutdown that would have a minimal effect on services.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said shortly before 10:30 p.m. that the Senate would consider four amendments to the Social Security Fairness Act before voting on that bill. It is expected to pass.
Then Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, will speak on the floor. Afterward, the Senate will have up to 30 minutes of debate and then vote on the government funding extension.
House Freedom Caucus chair Andy Harris, R-Md., released a statement Friday night following the vote to extend government funding saying he may not be able to support House Speaker Mike Johnson for speaker in January.
“Since President Trump’s historic election to bring down spending, deficits and inflation, the ‘Republican’-led House has INITIATED $300 billion in unpaid for new spending, without even ATTEMPTING offsets to prevent skyrocketing the deficit and debt,” he said.
“Future generations deserve better. I am now undecided on what House leadership should look like in the 119th Congress.”
Credit to USTODAY.
