Dec 21, 2024 - Politics & Policy

Senate sends funding bill to Biden, averting shutdown

Stephen Neukam

Sen. Chuck Schumer — Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer prepares to speak to reporters on Dec. 17, 2024. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Senate passed a bill early Saturday to extend government funding until March, sending the measure to President Biden for his signature and averting a government shutdown over the holidays.

Why it matters: The bill's passage ends a chaotic week on Capitol Hill, which demonstrated President-elect Trump's influence over lawmakers.

The vote was 85-11. The House hours earlier passed the measure by an overwhelming margin.
The three-month funding agreement also includes a one-year Farm Bill extension and over $100 billion in disaster relief for hurricane-ravaged areas.
Senate leaders agreed to fast-track the bill's passage, voting on the measure just after a midnight deadline and effectively preventing a government funding lapse.

The big picture: Trump blew up an initial bipartisan agreement earlier this week, demanding that Congress also raise the debt limit before the end of the year.

That led to a revised bill that would have suspended the debt limit for two years.
That measure failed spectacularly in the House on Thursday night, and the debt limit provision was nixed.

Go deeper: Jeffries' plan to kill the debt ceiling forever

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Senate sends funding bill to Biden, averting shutdown

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