US shutdown averted as Congress passes stopgap funding bill
- Package keeps government funding at current levels for roughly two more months while a long-term package is negotiated
- House Speaker Mike Johnson produced stopgap funding bill that drew broad bipartisan support, a rarity in modern US politics
The US Senate took the risk of an impending partial government shutdown off the table on Wednesday as it passed a stopgap spending bill and sent it to President Joe Biden to sign into law before a weekend deadline.
The 87-11 vote marked the end of this year’s third financial stand-off in Congress that saw lawmakers bring Washington to the brink of defaulting on its more than US$31 trillion in debt this spring and twice within days of a partial shutdown that would have interrupted pay for about 4 million federal workers.
The last near-miss with shutdown led to the October 3 ouster of Republican US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy that left the chamber leaderless for three weeks.
But lawmakers have bought themselves just a little more than two months’ breathing room. The Democratic-majority Senate and Republican-controlled House of Representatives’ next deadline is January 19, just days after the Iowa caucuses signal the start of the 2024 presidential campaign season.
“No drama, no delay, no government shutdown,” Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said prior to the vote.
McCarthy’s successor, Speaker Mike Johnson, produced a stopgap funding bill that drew broad bipartisan support, a rarity in modern US politics.