PoliticsUnited States of America

US lawmakers pass $1.2 trillion bill, averting shutdown

Key US government agencies will remain funded until the end of September, when the fight over the budget will start again.

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Shortly before midnight Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced a breakthroughImage: Annabelle Gordon/CNP/MediaPunch/IMAGO

The United States Senate approved a $1.2 trillion (€1.1 trillion) budget bill to fund the government for the fiscal year, narrowly avoiding a shutdown.

The bill was passed in a 74-24 vote early on Saturday after a midnight deadline.

It will now go to President Joe Biden to sign into law.

The package funds key departments including Defense, Homeland Security, Treasury, and State through September 30.

'Our persistence has been worth it'

The bill was passed in the nick of time as three-quarters of the government were at the verge of running out of cash at midnight.

This comes after temporary funding measures had kept the government running six months into the budget year.

As Republicans and Democrats sparred over proposed amendments to the bill, fears grew on Friday evening of a short-term government shutdown.

But shortly before midnight Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced a breakthrough.

"It's been a very long and difficult day, but we have just reached an agreement to complete the job of funding the government," Schumer said. "It wasn't easy, but tonight our persistence has been worth it."

"This legislation is truly a national security bill — 70% of the funding in this package is for our national defense, including investments that ...our closest allies," said Republican Senator Susan Collins, one of the main negotiators.

Republican divide highlighted

Earlier, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson angered his own party's right wing by using Democratic votes to advance the package to the Senate.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene threatened to call a vote to oust Johnson for allowing the bill to pass. "I filed a motion to vacate today. But it's more of a warning than a pink slip," Greene later said.

The Republican-led House of Representatives has ignored a separate Senate-passed bill that includes military aid to Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel, which were not covered in the measure.

Republican hard-liners saw the bill as too expensive with Republican Senator Rand Paul calling it "reckless" and warned that it would lead to inflation. They also contested the non-inclusion of the stricter border security provisions that they had demanded.

Former President Donald Trump has made immigration his top domestic campaign issue for the coming November presidential elections.