Biden signs short-term government funding bill, averting shutdown

President Biden on Thursday signed a short-term bill to fund the government through Dec. 3, just hours before a potential shutdown.

Why it matters: The bill passed in the Senate with bipartisan support, 65-35, after Democrats stripped language from it that would have suspended the debt ceiling. It passed in the House, 254-175.

• Government funding was set to run out at midnight on Oct. 1 if Congress did not act.

The backdrop: Republicans filibustered government funding and debt limit legislation last week, saying Democrats would have to deal with the limit on their own.

• House and Senate leadership are now exhausting all options to try and suspend the debt ceiling before the government defaults on its debt on Oct. 18.