The US House of Representatives previously approved the bill in extremis
The US Senate approved this Friday, after passing through the House of Representatives, a temporary spending bill to avoid a government shutdown due to lack of funds, in a vote that has technically concluded after the deadline expired at midnight on Friday to Saturday and which has had ‘yes’ votes from Democrats and Republicans.
The proposal, which received 366 votes in favor and 34 against in the House of Representatives, has been approved in the Senate with 85 yes votes and 11 no votes, according to data collected by CNN. The bill will be sent to President Joe Biden for him to sign it into law.
The text in question contemplates, among other issues, the extension of government funding until March 2025, including considerations on aid to agriculture and for disaster situations. However, the legislative project does not refer to a possible suspension of the debt limit, an approach demanded by President-elect Donald Trump from the Republicans.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, has described the initiative as a “very important piece of legislation” and has warned that things will be “very different” when the Republicans take control of both chambers of Congress in January, while thanking that “everyone has come together to do the right thing,” according to statements collected by the same channel.
Johnson has also assured that he has maintained “constant contact” with Trump during the development of the negotiations of the financing bill and has predicted that “he will also be happy with the result” because “it is a good result for the country.”
This news comes after Donald Trump and his number two, JD Vance, criticized on Wednesday the spending proposal presented by the President of the House of Representatives, the also Republican Mike Johnson, after the leaders of Congress reached an agreement to extend the financing of the Government and avoid its closure, threatening to close the Government by refusing to support the aforementioned temporary bipartisan financing agreement.
In fact, hours before the vote, the president-elect has stated that “(there was) going to be a government closure”, it is better that it was “now” since he has not yet taken office and it is the Democrat Joe Biden who is in charge of the White House.
In this regard, from the Oval Office, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has warned that “a government closure before the holidays would mean that service members and air traffic controllers would go to work without pay, essential government services for hard-working Americans would be suspended and economic disruption would occur.”
That said, he admitted that, although the proposal on the table did not include “everything they were looking for”, it would “guarantee that the Government can continue to operate at full capacity”, which is why the current president, Joe Biden, “supports the advancement of this legislation and the guarantee that the vital services that the Government provides (…) can continue”.
