Senators voted to approve a new version of a stopgap spending bill early Saturday morning, after the midnight deadline for a partial government shutdown came and went.
The Senate advanced the third version of a short-term spending bill by 85-11, and it will now head to the desk of President Biden, who has already signaled he will sign it.
An original agreement on a short-term spending bill was released earlier this week, totaling 1,547 pages and including a number of policy provisions and disaster relief.
But shortly after its release, billionaire Elon Musk and other conservative critics publicly criticized the measure, ultimately resulting in it being condemned by President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance.
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Congress passed a short-term spending bill with just hours left before the shutdown deadline. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Republicans must BE SMART and TOUGH. If Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, then THEY MUST CALL THEIR DECEPTION. It is Schumer and Biden who are delaying help to our farmers and help in cases disaster,” Trump and Vance said in a lengthy statement opposing the bill Wednesday afternoon.
The initial spending measure would have extended government funding levels for fiscal year 2024 through March 14 and provided more than $100 billion in disaster aid for those affected by storms Helene and Milton in the southeastern United States. early this year. Also in the bill was a provision of $10 billion for economic assistance to farmers.
Meanwhile, as of Thursday, the united states national debt It was at $36,167,604,149,955.61 and was still rising rapidly.
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Elon Musk openly opposed the first version of the bill. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The size of the bill, along with several of its other provisions, including a cost-of-living increase for lawmakers, sparked public backlash from Musk and others.
“Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be eliminated within 2 years!” wrote in X.
After going back to the drawing board, House Republicans emerged Thursday with a new proposal. The revised measure would have extended current funding levels by three months and included a suspension of the debt limit for two years, according to Trump’s request.
Additionally, it provided economic aid for farmers and about $110 billion in disaster relief.
But the bill failed in the House of Representatives Thursday night as Democrats united against it and a significant group of Republicans chose to oppose it as well.
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Johnson had to find a new stopgap bill after opposition from Musk. (Jean Catuffe/GC Images/Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“Old bill: $110 billion in (unpaid) deficit spending, $0 increase in national credit card. New bill: $110 billion in (unpaid) deficit spending, increase in debt ceiling debt of over 4 TRILLION dollars with 0 dollars in structural reforms for cuts. It’s time to read the bill: 1.5 hours I will vote no,” wrote Rep. Chip Roy, Republican from Texas, in X before the vote.
Roy was one of 38 House Republicans who opposed the stopgap bill.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (left) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. (Reuters)
As of Friday morning, there appeared to be no agreement between Democrats and Republicans in Congress to work together on a new bill. In fact, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., said the government would enter a partial shutdown at midnight if Republicans they did not return to the original provisional bill.
“I’m willing to stay here until Christmas because we’re not going to let Elon Musk run the government,” Murray said in a statement.
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Democrats did not get their wish, which was to return to the original bill. (Reuters)
Schumer said in remarks on the Senate floor that the original bill would pass the House if Speaker Mike Johnson brought it to the floor for a vote.
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The third measure, which ultimately passed the House and Senate, was similar to the one that failed the night before. The bill included financial aid for farmers and disaster relief for those affected by recent storms. However, the final interim bill did not include a suspension of the debt ceiling, which Trump himself had requested.
The House passed the short-term spending bill with 366 votes in favor, exceeding the two-thirds needed.
