The Senate passes a bill to end the shutdown and sends it to President Biden’s desk

The Senate passes a bill to end the shutdown and sends it to President Biden’s desk

Senators voted early Saturday morning to pass a new version of a stopgap bill after the midnight deadline for a partial government shutdown passed.

The Senate advanced the third version of a short-term spending bill by a vote of 85-11, and it now heads to the desk of President Biden, who has already signaled he will sign it.

An initial agreement on a short-term spending bill was released earlier this week, totaling 1,547 pages and containing 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 leading to its condemnation by President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance.

Senate Democrats rail against “shadow speaker” billionaire Elon Musk: “Elected for nothing”

US Capitol

Congress passed a short-term spending bill with just hours left until the shutdown deadline expired. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Republicans need to get smart and tough. When Democrats threaten to shut down the government if we don’t give them everything they want, call their bluff. It is Schumer and Biden who are holding up aid to our farmers and disaster relief,” Trump said, and Vance said in a lengthy statement opposing the bill Wednesday afternoon.

The first spending measure would have extended federal funding for fiscal year 2024 through March 14 and provided more than $100 billion in disaster relief to people affected by storms Helene and Milton in the southeastern U.S. earlier this year. The bill also included a $10 billion provision for economic aid for farmers.

It has now been since Thursday US national debt was $36,167,604,149,955.61 and continued to rise rapidly.

Senate Republicans are trying to speed up emergency military pay as they prepare for the shutdown

Donald Trump talks to Elon Musk

Elon Musk was vocal in his opposition to the first version of the bill. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The bill’s size, 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 voted out in two years!” he wrote on X.

After going back to the drawing board, House Republicans advanced a new proposal Thursday. The revised measure would have extended current funding levels by three months and included a suspension of the debt ceiling for two years, according to Trump’s request.

There was also economic relief for farmers and about $110 billion in disaster relief.

But the bill failed in the House on Thursday night, with Democrats united against it and a significant group of Republicans also choosing to oppose it.

Top Senate lawmakers pour cold water on Republicans’ latest spending plans: ‘Ready to stay until Christmas’

Speakers Mike Johnson and Elon Musk shared the image

After Musk’s resistance, Johnson had to find a new workaround. (Jean Catuffe/GC Images/Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“Old Bill: $110B Deficit Spending (Unpaid), $0 National Credit Card Increase. New bill: $110 billion in deficit spending (unpaid), debt ceiling increase of over $4 trillion, and structural reforms for $0 in cuts. Time to read the bill: 1.5 hours. “I will be voting no,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, wrote before voting on X.

Roy was one of 38 Republicans in the House of Representatives who opposed the stopgap bill.

Mike Johnson

House Speaker Mike Johnson (left) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (Reuters)

On 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 Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., said the government would be partially shut down at midnight if Republicans did not return to the original stopgap bill .

“I am prepared to stay here until Christmas because we will not let Elon Musk run the government,” Murray said in a statement.

TIM SCOTT’S SENATE CAMPAIGN ARM STAFF ARE UNVEILED AHEAD OF THE DECISIVE 2026 SWING STATE RACE

Patty Murray, Chuck Schumer

The Democrats did not get their wish, namely a return to the original bill. (Reuters)

Schumer said in remarks on the Senate floor that the original bill would pass in the House if Speaker Mike Johnson brought it up for a vote.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The third measure that ultimately passed the House and Senate was similar to the one that failed the night before. The bill included economic relief for farmers and disaster relief for those affected by recent storms. However, the final stopgap bill did not include a suspension of the debt ceiling, which Trump himself had called for.

The House of Representatives passed the short-term spending bill with 366 votes in favor, exceeding the required two-thirds majority.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *