Trump Signs Bill Funding Government for 6 Months, Avoiding a Shutdown

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Several Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the bill, which funds the government through the end of the fiscal year.

President Donald Trump on March 15 signed a bill into law funding the government through the end of September, avoiding the looming threat of a government shutdown.

In a post on the social platform X, White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields said, “@POTUS signed the CR,” or continuing resolution, on Saturday.

The legislation mostly keeps government funding at levels set during the Biden administration, with changes. It increases defense spending by roughly $6 billion while lowering non-defense spending by about $13 billion, small alterations in the nearly $1.7 trillion package.

The Senate voted 54–46 to pass the bill on Friday, hours ahead of the funding deadline. While a handful of Democrats had voted to advance the bill earlier in the day, just Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Angus King (I-Vt.) supported its final passage. The only Republican to vote against the bill, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), cited budget concerns.
Senate Democrats were in limbo for days over whether to support the bill or force a shutdown, accusing House Republicans for drafting and passing the funding legislation without their input. The House passed its version of the bill on March 11 by a 217–213 vote.
Some House Democrats had pushed their Senate colleagues to reject the bill, with protests breaking out at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) office after he announced on Thursday he would vote to prevent a shutdown, calling it the best of multiple bad options. Previously, he opposed the bill and said Republicans wouldn’t have enough votes to pass it.

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Four proposed amendments to the legislation were defeated ahead of the bill’s final passage in the Senate, including one to reduce the funding to 30 days and another from Paul to implement certain DOGE recommendations.

The 11 Democrats who joined Republicans to advance the measure in an earlier procedural vote were Schumer, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Sens. Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-N.Y.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Gary Peters (D-Mich), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Shaheen, and King.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump congratulated Schumer “for doing the right thing—Took ‘guts’ and courage!”

“We should all work together on that very dangerous situation. A non pass would be a Country destroyer, approval will lead us to new heights. Again, really good and smart move by Senator Schumer,” Trump added.

Joseph Lord, Jackson Richman, Arjun Singh, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Original News Source Link – Epoch Times

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