The US Senate passed a bill to fund the federal government, averting a potential shutdown
**Washington -** A temporary spending plan to support the federal government through March was approved by the U.S. Senate on Saturday morning. To avoid a government shutdown, the bill had to be approved by both houses of Congress, the Democratic-controlled Senate and the Republican-controlled House. On Friday, President Joe Biden declared his support for the bill and his intention to sign it into law. Once passed, the package will provide $10 billion for farmers, $100 billion for disaster relief, and government funding until March. It won't raise the federal debt ceiling, though.
The House passed the bill on its third try, while the Senate passed it by a vote of 85–11. With one person present, the House vote was 366–34. Republicans voted against the bill 34 times in the House. "We are encouraged by this result," House Speaker Mike Johnson declared following the vote. After speaking with President-elect Donald Trump, he said, he was "definitely pleased with this outcome." Following the vote, Johnson told reporters, "This was a necessary step to bridge the gap so that we can eventually leave our mark on final spending decisions."
The chamber's ruling Republicans in the House approved a fresh plan on Friday. This last-ditch attempt to prevent a government shutdown followed Congressional Republicans' failure on Thursday to approve a budget bill supported by Trump that contained an increase in the debt ceiling, which Trump had last-minute demanded. Only two Democrats voted in favor of Thursday's bill, while dozens of Republicans opposed it. With the exception of not suspending the debt ceiling, the new plan is exactly the same as the bill that failed on Thursday. Johnson's problems started earlier this week when he pulled out of a bipartisan funding agreement with Democrats after Trump and entrepreneur Elon Musk blasted it.
Technically, government funding was supposed to expire at midnight on Friday, even though the House cleared the bill. A shutdown, however, would not have had a significant impact until Monday. When then-President Trump refused to sign any funding bill that did not include billions of dollars for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, the longest U.S. government shutdown in history took place from December 2018 to January 2019. The closure lasted 34 days. His approval ratings suffered as a result. The Associated Press and Reuters provided some of the information used in this report.
How does us governmant shutdown operate?
If the House and Senate couldn't agree on a stopgap spending package by the Friday midnight deadline, there would be a funding lapse, which may lead to a partial government shutdown right before the holidays. Essential government functions that protect people and property continue during a shutdown, but no federal employee is paid until the closure is over. U.S. military personnel are also affected by this income loss. President-elect Trump said on social media Friday morning, "If a government shutdown is going to occur, let it happen now under the Biden administration, not after January 20 under Trump." "This is Biden's problem to solve, but if Republicans can help fix it, they will!"
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| US House approves bill to avert midnight shutdown |
Trump reiterated his demand in a new post at 1 a.m. Eastern Time that any short-term spending bill either fully remove the borrowing cap or suspend the debt ceiling for the next four years. "Congress should either eliminate the absurd debt ceiling or extend it, possibly until 2029," Trump tweeted. We should never accept a deal without this. Keep in mind that whoever is elected president will be under pressure.
Musk and Trump's objections.
Earlier this week, Republicans and Democrats came to an agreement to extend different healthcare programs, extend agricultural and nutrition programs in the farm bill, fund the government, offer disaster assistance, and address dozens of other issues. Trump, however, stepped in and stopped House GOP leaders from bringing the plan to a vote on the floor. Trump started urging lawmakers to fix the debt ceiling now rather than during his possible second term since he and Musk opposed some of the external features in the initial bill.
House Republicans tried to approve their first interim bill that was just for Republicans on Thursday night, but it was defeated by a vote of 174-235, with 38 Republicans voting against it. The bill suspended the debt ceiling for two years. "There is unanimous agreement that we need to move forward," Johnson said following a 90-minute meeting behind closed doors. I hope we move forward. We're not going to let the government close. In addition to making sure that the troops, vital services, and everyone else who depends on the federal government get paid over the holidays, we will also honor our commitments to farmers and disaster victims nationwide." There were no Democrats who voted against the bill's passage, but 34 House Republicans did.
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