Senate leaves it late but passes stopgap spending deal, averting shutdown

Congress passed a stopgap spending bill to extend government funding into early next year, sending the bill to President Joe Biden’s desk in time to avert a government shutdown late on Friday evening.

Government funding briefly lapsed at the stroke of midnight on Saturday, but the Office of Management and Budget said that its agencies would not shut down and normal operations could continue after it became clear the Senate was about to vote the package through. Less than an hour later, the Senate voted 85-11 to pass the package.