WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan federal spending bill early Saturday morning, averting a government shutdown and marking the top of a chaotic week in Congress with much at stake.
The bill authorizes continued federal funding at current levels for 3 months and provides additional disaster relief and agricultural assistance.
The House overwhelmingly approved the measure Friday evening by a vote of 366-34, with all Democrats and greater than three-quarters of Republicans supporting it.
The bill was approved within the Senate shortly after midnight by a vote of 85 to 11. Of the no votes, 10 were forged by Republicans and one got here from Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vt., an independent who caucuses with Democrats.
The strong support for the emergency funding bill reflected a bipartisan desire to avoid a costly shutdown that would have jeopardized the paychecks of tons of of 1000’s of federal staff just days before Christmas.
President Joe Biden plans to sign the ultimate bill on Saturday, the White House said.
“While it does not contain everything we sought…President Biden supports moving forward with this legislation,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a press release Friday.
The dramatic votes in each the House and Senate capped several days of chaos on Capitol Hill as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., tried to accede to President-elect Donald Trump's demands, but failed.
Trump and his billionaire campaign donor Elon Musk Tesla CEO, scuppered an initial negotiated financing plan Wednesday by sharply criticizing its provisions, leaving Republicans struggling to search out something for many of Thursday a alternative.
Specifically, Trump insisted that any agreement to maintain the federal government open must include a two-year suspension of the U.S. debt limit. The limit is the utmost amount the federal government can borrow to pay its expenses.
The debt ceiling is a recurring, bitter debate in Washington every few years, wherein the political party within the minority typically has loads of influence. Trump seems keen to avoid this fight as he begins his second term.
But authorizing the United States to borrow more cash goes too far for a lot of conservative Republicans.
This was evident on Thursday The invoiceThe law, which provided for minimal government funding and a rise within the debt ceiling, was clearly rejected. In addition to just about all Democrats, 38 rank-and-file Republicans voted against it after their party's leader publicly supported the agreement.
Like Thursday's failed vote, Friday's passage – without Trump's debt limit increase – reminded the brand new president how difficult it’s to manage the notoriously divided Republican faction within the House of Representatives.
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