US government shutdown averted as Senate passes spending bill

After the Senate approved a Republican-led bill to maintain government funding for the upcoming six months, the United States avoided a government shutdown.
Two Democrats joined all but one Republican senator in voting in favour of the stopgap funding package, which cleared the Senate 54-46. It now needs to be signed into law by President Donald Trump by the deadline of Friday midnight.
Following intense debate, some Senate Democrats permitted the legislation to clear a procedural obstacle, setting up the crucial vote earlier.

The bill was advanced to its final Friday night vote by nine members, including Democrat Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader.

Its final passing was supported by the votes of two Democrats, Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Independent Senator Angus King of Maine. Schumer cast a "no" vote.
He declared on Thursday that he would vote to approve the plan, stating that while he didn't like the package, he thought it would be worse than causing a shutdown.
Democrat According to the BBC's US partner CBS News, Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez described Schumer's willingness to allow the funding plan to move forward as a "huge slap in the face" and said that there is a "wide sense of betrayal" among the party.

She said backing the bill "codifies the chaos and the reckless cuts that Elon Musk has been pursuing", and that Senate Democrats who voted yes would be empowering "the robbing of our federal government in order to finance tax cuts for billionaires".
In the end, the Democrats pushed for a 30-day continuing resolution that was unlikely to get enough support to pass after debating whether or not to support the plan.
The passing of the bill was hailed by Senator Ted Cruz, who accused the Democrats of engaging in "political theatre"
"The government is funded, let's get back to work," he tweeted.

For Trump and House Republicans, the passage is a win.
Trump said that "a non pass would be a Country destroyer, approval will lead us to new heights" in his rare bipartisan laudatory statement on Friday morning regarding Schumer's decision to allow the bill to proceed.
With a few significant adjustments, the bill would mostly maintain the Biden Administration's federal budget levels.
It raises military funding by $6 billion (£4.6 billion) for things like border security and healthcare for veterans. but would reduce budget for non-defense by roughly $13 billion.

Local politicians in Washington, DC, were concerned that the law would reduce federal funding for the city by $1 billion over the following six months. But according to the New York Times, the Senate passed a different bill that preserved its present operating budget.