To avoid a government shutdown, Senate Democrats and Republicans passed what majority leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) called a “commendable, pragmatic, and bipartisan” stopgap spending bill on Tuesday afternoon.
Congress must pass twelve appropriation bills to fund governmental departments throughout the year. However, recent spending bills have faced pushback: a contingent of Republicans is seeking higher spending cuts and reduced aid to Ukraine compared to what previous packages have included. Tuesday’s short-term funding bill will prevent a government closure days before the current federal budget expires on Saturday.
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) asked Republicans to support the resolution, asking his colleagues to avoid a government shutdown.
“At the end of the day, a government shutdown would be an unnecessary disruption of the important work of the Senate’s agenda,” he said. “So I would urge each of my colleagues to work this week to avoid one. Senator Collins, Senator Murray, and our colleagues on the Appropriations Committee have worked diligently to help the Senate fulfill our commitment to funding the government through regular order. As that important work continues, colleagues in both chambers are rightly concerned about a number of distinct priorities.”
It’s unclear if the GOP has the votes to pass a stopgap in the House, where a delegation of Republican holdouts are currently opposed. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R., Ga.) said this weekend that she is a “hard no” on spending bills that include aid to Ukraine, saying that “no one who wants peace should vote yes on the rule to advance the bills.” Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.). has also opposed short-term funding measures, demanding that conservative border policies be added to the next federal budget.
The stopgap will continue to fund the government, maintain funding for Ukraine, and aid disaster relief efforts, Schumer said. The bill will extend government funding until November 17.