Senate misses midnight deadline but will vote on spending bill

Teh Senate missed a midnight deadline on saturday for a government funding lapse but is expected too vote on a stopgap‌ spending bill designed to prevent⁣ a government shutdown.​ The House of Representatives had already voted overwhelmingly in favor of the legislation, which follows a recent rejection of a similar package that included a debt limit increase. The new bill would extend government funding untill March 14 and allocate an additional $110.4 billion for disaster relief and economic assistance for farmers,as well as prolonging certain programs under the Farm Bill ⁤until September 2025.The Office of Management and Budget indicated a high⁤ level ⁤of confidence in the bill’s eventual passage,⁣ meaning government operations‍ would continue without interruption. The Senate is set to ⁤fast-track the‌ bill for​ a vote, likely sending it to President Joe Biden’s desk soon.


Senate misses midnight shutdown deadline but poised to vote on stopgap spending deal

Government funding lapsed at the stroke of midnight on Saturday, but the Senate is poised to vote on a stopgap spending bill that would prevent a government shutdown.

The House voted earlier on Friday 366-34 to advance the package, overcoming the two-thirds majority needed to clear the lower chamber. The legislation, which did not include President-elect Donald Trump’s demand to attach a debt limit increase, then headed to the Democratic-led Senate for consideration. The Senate, however, was not quite able to get the vote on the legislation done before midnight.

The Office of Management and Budget said after midnight that its agencies will not shut down and may continue normal operations, saying it had ceased preparations for a shutdown because of a “high degree of confidence that Congress will imminently pass the relevant appropriations and the President will sign the bill on Saturday.”

The bill was on a glide path to passage after a deal was reached to fast-track its consideration and then be sent to President Joe Biden’s desk.

The latest funding package punts the funding deadline until March 14 and provides an additional $110.4 billion in disaster aid and economic assistance for farmers. It also includes an extension of programs under the annual Farm Bill until the end of September 2025, among other provisions.

The bill is similar to the first continuing resolution package that was rejected on Thursday, but it does not include the debt limit provision that was opposed by GOP deficit hawks and was largely responsible for the first failed vote.

The new measure was fast-tracked to the floor on Friday under suspension of rules, meaning it required a significant number of Democrats to pass the House. Despite threatening for days to withhold support on any spending package other than the original bipartisan agreement, 196 Democrats crossed party lines to help push the bill across the finish line. 34 Republicans voted against the legislation.

It’s not clear if a deal was made between House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to secure the Democratic support needed. However, Jeffries did tell reporters heading into a closed-door meeting Friday evening that he had spoken with Johnson “multiple times” leading up to Friday’s vote.

Jeffries also struck a more amenable tone toward the latest iteration of the CR, saying, “What needed to come out of the bill has come out of the bill.”

Jeffries went on to say efforts from Trump and entrepreneur Elon Musk to include a debt limit increase at the “eleventh hour was not sustainable.”

Johnson told reporters after the legislation’s passage that he was in “constant contact” with both Trump and Musk throughout the negotiation process. Johnson called the passage of the continuing resolution a “necessary step to bridge the gap” heading into Trump’s second term:

“This is America First legislation because it allows us to be set up to deliver for the American people. In January, we will make a sea change in Washington. President Trump will return to D.C. and to the White House, and we will have Republican control the Senate and the House.”

Schumer called the legislation a victory in remarks needling Trump for the lack of a debt ceiling hike in the bill.

“I’m glad that the Republican leadership and that the Republican colleagues in the House didn’t — were able to tell Elon Musk he was wrong when it comes to the debt ceiling,” Schumer said, echoing Democratic taunts that Musk is really in charge of the incoming Trump White House.

Leaders of both parties in the House and Senate spent weeks negotiating the original bipartisan funding agreement that would extend government funding, approve disaster aid, and provide economic assistance to farmers. However, that package was scrapped less than 24 hours after it was finalized on Tuesday due to opposition from Trump and his allies, such as Musk.

After walking back on the initial funding bill, House Republican leaders put forward their own proposal on Thursday to keep the government open. That included a measure to suspend the debt ceiling for two years — a provision that caught many lawmakers off guard, especially deficit hawks in the House who are staunchly opposed to raising the debt limit.

The bill then tanked in a 174-235 vote after nearly all Democrats and 38 Republicans opposed it. Republicans then agreed to remove the measure to increase the debt ceiling, a final-hour demand from President-elect Donald Trump, in order to win over some GOP holdouts. Instead, the speaker and rank-and-file members entered into a handshake agreement to enact spending cuts in exchange for a debt ceiling raise in Republicans’ first reconciliation package next year.

Hailey Bullis contributed to this report



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