Dec. 20 (UPI) — The Senate worked past midnight to approve the continuing resolution passed earlier in the day by the House.
The measure, once approved by the Senate and signed by the president, will avert a large-scale government shutdown.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., assured reporters throughout the evening Friday that the upper chamber would approve the continuing resolution that was revised and approved by House lawmakers earlier.
About a few hours before the deadline, he announced that Democrats and Republicans had reached an agreement that would allow the Senate to pass the CR before the midnight deadline, according to the Washington Post.
Earlier on Friday, the House of Representatives approved the stopgap measure funding U.S. government operations through March, averting a pre-Christmas partial shutdown with just hours to spare.
Members passed the measure by a 366-to-34 margin, with 34 Republicans voting against it and one Democrat voting present.
The bill has to be approved in the Senate and then must be signed by President Joe Biden to prevent any adverse effects on government functions.
Even with the Senate failing to do so before the midnight deadline and prompting a short government shutdown, the effects will be minimal and nothing in comparison to the widespread chaos and harm that would be felt were no stopgap funding measure reached by both houses of Congress.
“Though this bill does not include everything Democrats fought for, there are major victories in this bill for American families — provide emergency aid for communities battered by natural disasters, no debt ceiling, and it will keep the government open with no draconian cuts,” Schumer said.
Before the measure moved to the Senate from the House, it was accompanied by much political drama surrounding President-elect Donald Trump and his adviser, billionaire Elon Musk.
The third attempt to pass the measure in the House earlier in the evening did not include Trump’s earlier demand to include a suspension of the federal debt limit, which drew united opposition from Democrats.
It did, however, contain disaster relief and aid to farmers, which were included in an initial version that was scuttled after Musk objected to its provisions.
The White House said Biden supports the latest version and will sign it into law.
“While it does not include everything we sought, it includes disaster relief that the president requested for the communities recovering from the storm, eliminates the accelerated pathway to a tax cut for billionaires, and would ensure that the government can continue to operate at full capacity,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
“President Biden supports moving this legislation forward and ensuring that the vital services the government provides for hardworking Americans — from issuing Social Security checks to processing benefits for veterans — can continue as well as to grant assistance for communities that were impacted by devastating hurricanes.”
The clock had been ticking on a government shutdown after Republicans failed to pass the second version of funding bill late Thursday.
Speaking to reporters early Friday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said a “Plan C” would be forthcoming during the day, stating, “We’ve got a plan.”
Congress had until midnight to pass the bill and avoid a government shutdown through the holiday season. After its passage, Johnson called the measure “important” and a “necessary step to bridge the gap to put us into that moment where we can put our fingerprints on the final decisions on spending for 2025” while urging its quick passage in the Senate.
House Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, however, said his caucus succeeded at restoring the disaster aid and other provisions that had been stripped earlier.
“House Democrats have successfully stopped extreme MAGA Republicans from shutting down the government, crashing the economy and hurting working-class Americans all across the land,” he told reporters.
A government spending bill requires two-thirds support from the House. Thursday’s bill was voted down by a count of 174-235, with 38 Republicans voting against it along with all but two Democrats.
Thursday’s bill had the support of Trump and Musk.
Musk vehemently opposed the initial bipartisan spending bill that included $100 billion for disaster relief and support for farmers on Wednesday, urging Republicans to “kill the bill.” He unleashed dozens of posts on X pressuring Republicans to reject the bill that would have funded the government into March.
Before Friday’s vote, Musk praised Johnson, writing in a post on X, “The Speaker did a good job here, given the circumstances. It went from a bill that weighed pounds to a bill that weighed ounces. Ball should now be in the Dem court.”
Several Republicans who voted against the second version of bill on Thursday drew Trump’s frustration, including Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas. Trump threatened on social media that Republicans who oppose him on the spending bill will be voted out in primary elections.
Roy said Thursday that he is “happy to take the fire.”
The bill that Musk and Trump supported removed $190 million for child cancer research from its predecessor.
Jeffries called on Johnson to resurrect the initial bipartisan spending bill that Musk, and later Trump, shot down.
“The best path forward is the bipartisan agreement that was reached between House Republicans, House Democrats, Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats,” he told reporters.
Jean-Pierre said during a press briefing Friday that Biden has spoken with lawmakers from both parties and hopes to see the bipartisan agreement return to the table and pass.
“Republicans blew up this deal. And they need to fix this,” said Jean-Pierre. “Congressional Republicans, at the direction of President-elect Trump and Elon Musk, are trying to pave the way for adding $5 trillion to our national debt. You’re talking about tax cuts for billionaires, slashing social security, slashing Medicare.”
She added that government agencies began notifying employees of potential furloughs on Friday at about noon, responding to a question about whether government employees will receive paychecks over the holidays or not.
“We believe there is still time for Congress to avoid a partial shutdown,” she said.
Meanwhile, Trump encouraged Republicans to shut the government down while Biden is in office, not after he assumes office.
“If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now, under the Biden Administration, not after Jan. 20, under ‘TRUMP,'” he posted on Truth Social. “This is a Biden problem to solve, but if Republicans can help solve it, they will!”
Trump had called on Congress to suspend the debt ceiling until at least 2029, after his term ends.
The division among House Republicans has been a fixture of the 118th Congress. It undid former Rep. Kevin McCarthy‘s time as House speaker as he led one of the most ineffective Congressional Assemblies in nearly a century.
The last time Congress passed a budget was Dec. 27, 2020, when Democrats had a majority in the U.S. House. Republicans had a majority in the U.S. Senate.