March 15 (UPI) — President Donald Trump on Saturday signed a funding bill after its passage in the Senate on Friday ahead of a midnight deadline to avoid a federal government shutdown.
The stopgap measure funds the government through Sept. 30.
Trump, who urged senators to approve the measure in the days before the body voted on it, signed the bill at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., where he arrived Friday night.
The measure passed 54-46, nearly along party lines, with Democrat Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and independent Angus King voting yes and Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky voting no.
But first the senators needed to pass a cloture vote to end debate on the measure with the support of enough Democrats.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer was among nine Democrats and one independent to approve a motion to end the filibuster 62-38. Paul of Kentucky was the lone Republican to vote against cloture.
The earlier vote to end the filibuster needed to be approved by at least 60 senators. The other one only needed a simple majority.
Schumer, who voted against the spending bill, explained his earlier vote to CNN on Friday.
“A government shutdown gives Donald Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE almost complete power as to what to close down, because they can decide what is an essential service,” he said. “My job as leader is to lead the party and if there’s going to be danger in the near future, to protect the party. And I’m proud I did it. I knew I did the right thing, and I knew there would be some disagreements. That’s how it always is.”
The Senate voted on the six-month government funding bill passed by the House, which adjourned until March 24. It was approved Tuesday nearly exactly on party lines at 217-213, with one Democrat voting for and one GOP member against.
Typically, a “clean” CR just holds current government spending levels steady, but this 99-page bill includes a slight increase in military spending and a $13 billion cut in domestic nondefense spending.
HR 1968 gives the “Trump administration significantly more leeway to spend federal dollars without Congressional approval,” according to the Economic Policy Institute, as well as preventing any member of Congress from attempting to terminate Trump’s recent declaration of national emergencies over immigration and the U.S. border.
Schumer announced on the Senate floor he wanted the bill to be signed, drawing a rebuke from members of Congress in the House and Senate.
On Saturday, Democratic Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina said in an interview with CNN that “I have confidence in Chuck, no question about that. I just disagree with him on this particular issue.”
The 84-year-old leader, who has been in the House since 1993, voted against the short-term spending bill.
“This is a bad deal, a very bad deal, and I voted against it,” he said. “All but one Democrat from the House side voted against it. Quite frankly, we do feel that the Senate Democrats should have held the line.”
He said he believes Schumer has unfortunately “blown a hole” in the relationship between House and Senate Democrats, although it is “not so big that it cannot be amended.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New Yorker like Schumer, used similar language in a Bluesky social media post on Friday.
“Among the material devastation to everyday people, Senate Dems have now blown a hole in their ability to work with the House. We had an agreed upon plan, House took immense risk, then Senate turned around midway and destroyed it w/ a fear-based, inexplicable abdication. They own what happens next,” she posted.
Ocasio-Cortez is being urged by some Democrats to run against Schumer in the 2028 Senate primary, ABC News reported.
Trump praised Schumer for supporting the bill.
“Congratulations to Chuck Schumer for doing the right thing. Took ‘guts’ and courage! The big Tax Cuts, L.A. fire fix, Debt Ceiling Bill, and so much more, is coming. We should all work together on that very dangerous situation. A non pass would be a Country destroyer, approval will lead us to new heights,” Trump wrote on Trump Social on Friday.
On Wednesday, Trump condemned Schumer during a meeting with Ireland’s Prime Minister Micael Martin in the Oval Office.
“Schumer is a Palestinian, as far as I’m concerned,” Trump said in response to a question about the U.S. corporate tax rate. “He’s become a Palestinian. He used to be Jewish. He’s not Jewish anymore.”