Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Thursday that the Senate will take up and pass a short-term spending bill by the end of Friday to avoid a partial government shutdown, and give Republicans and Democrats another week to work toward a long-term spending bill.
“The House has introduced a short-term funding bill that we expect to pass before Friday night’s deadline, so that a final agreement can be drafted and shared with members for their review prior to its consideration next week,” McConnell said in his opening speech on the Senate floor Thursday morning.
The announcement comes a day after House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., introduced a one-week measure to keep the government open until May 5.
If Congress doesn’t act, the federal government would partially shut down at midnight on Friday. But the week-long bill will keep the government open, and the prospects of passing a bill for the rest of fiscal year 2017 improved this week after the Trump administration indicated it would not insist on funding for President Trump’s border wall.
