WASHINGTON – The US Senate has agreed to a bipartisan process federal Spending bill early Saturday morning that averted a Government shutdown and marked the end of a chaotic, high-stakes week in Congress.
The bill Approves continued funding from the federal government at current levels for three 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 more than three-quarters of Republicans supporting it.
The bill was approved in the Senate shortly after midnight by a vote of 85 to 11. Of the no votes, 10 were cast by Republicans and one came 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 could have jeopardized the paychecks of hundreds of thousands of federal workers just days before Christmas.
President Joe Biden plans to sign the final 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 statement Friday.
The dramatic votes in both the House and Senate capped several days of chaos on Capitol Hill in which House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., tried but failed to comply with the president-elect’s demands Donald Trump.
Trump and his billionaire campaign donors Elon MuskThe Tesla CEO, scuppered an initial negotiated financing plan Wednesday by sharply criticizing its provisions, leaving Republicans struggling to find something for most of Thursday a replacement.
Specifically, Trump insisted that any agreement to keep the government open must include a two-year suspension of the U.S. debt limit. The limit is the maximum amount the federal government can borrow to pay its expenses.
The debt ceiling is a recurring, bitter debate in Washington every few years, in which the political party in the minority typically has a lot of influence. Trump seems keen to avoid this fight as he begins his second term.
But authorizing the United States to borrow more money goes too far for many conservative Republicans.
This was evident on Thursday The invoiceThe law, which provided for minimal government funding and an increase in the debt ceiling, was clearly rejected. In addition to almost all Democrats, there were 38 rank-and-file Republicans who voted against it it, according to her The party leader had publicly supported the deal.
Like Thursday’s failed vote, Friday’s passage – without Trump’s debt limit increase – reminded the new president how difficult it is to control the notoriously divided Republican faction in the House of Representatives.