Government shutdown: House passes stop-gap funding bill, sends it to Senate for vote

WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives has approved a bipartisan bill. Federal submitted the spending bill on Friday and sent it to the Senate, hours before a midnight deadline to fund the government. It was unclear Friday whether the Senate could pass the bill before 12:00 a.m. ET, when funding Technical error.

Bill Funding will continue to be provided by the federal government. for three months at the current level, and provides disaster relief and farm assistance.

The bill passed with significant Democratic support and a two-thirds vote of members present, a high bar that reflects a desire in both parties to avoid a costly shutdown that threatens the paychecks of millions of federal employees just days before Christmas. I can put

The bill has a realistic path to passing the Democratic-controlled Senate. But parliamentary procedure in the chamber gives individual senators more power to legislate.

If the bill passes the Senate in its current form, outgoing President Joe Biden is expected to sign it into law soon.

“While this does not include everything we sought, President Biden supports moving this legislation forward,” White House press secretary Kirin Jean-Pierre said in a statement Friday.

The House vote ended days of chaos on Capitol Hill, during which Johnson tried, and failed, to meet President-elect Donald Trump’s demands.

Trump and his billionaire campaign donor Elon MuskTesla’s CEO scuppered an early, negotiated funding plan Wednesday by strongly criticizing its provisions, sending Republicans scrambling for much of Thursday. An alternative plan.

In particular, Trump insisted that any deal to keep the government open must include a two-year suspension of the US debt ceiling. The ceiling is the maximum the federal government can borrow to pay for its spending.

The debt ceiling is a recurring, bitter debate in Washington every few years, and one where the political party in the minority usually has the most leverage. Trump appears eager to avoid this fight as he begins his second term in office.

But giving the U.S. the power to borrow more money is too far-fetched for many hard-line conservative Republicans.

This was revealed on Thursday. Billwhich had bare-bones government funding and debt ceiling hikes, was a resounding defeat. Almost every Democrat was joined by 38 Republicans who voted against. This, after them The party leader had publicly endorsed the deal.

Like Thursday’s failed vote, Friday’s approval — without Trump raising the debt ceiling — served as a reminder to the incoming president of how difficult it is to control the notoriously contentious House Republican caucus.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.