Congress averts shutdown with three-month stopgap at 11th hour

Updated Dec. 21 at 12:30 a.m.

In the wee hours of Saturday morning, Congress approved a stopgap spending bill to keep agencies afloat through March 14, allowing the federal government to remain open—even though lawmakers technically missed the midnight deadline. 

The measure includes more than $100 billion in disaster aid—to victims of hurricanes Helene and Milton, among other events—and economic assistance to farmers. The bill required a two-thirds majority to pass the House, meaning a large portion of Democrats had to join Republicans for the bill to advance. Nearly all Democrats did so and the bill moved to the Senate, which passed it with ease after a series of failed amendment votes. 

The continuing resolution now heads to President Biden's desk, who is expected to quickly sign it into law.

The Office of Management and Budget "has ceased shutdown preparations because there is a high degree of confidence that Congress will imminently pass the relevant appropriations and the president will sign the bill on Saturday," the White House said early Saturday after funding technically expired and before the Senate voted. "Because obligations of federal funds are incurred and tracked on a daily basis, agencies will not shut down and may continue their normal operations."

A shutdown seemed likely in recent days after President-elect Donald Trump and his confidante Elon Musk threw previous plans awry on Wednesday. They denounced a painstakingly negotiated bipartisan package and insisted many of its provisions not be included.

Trump also called for the package to include a debt-ceiling increase. A bill that included a suspension of the nation’s borrowing limit was soundly defeated on the House floor Thursday. The bill passed on early Saturday lacked such a provision.

Democratic Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., backed the bill in a meeting just before Friday’s vote. 

“What we needed to come out of the bill has come out of the bill,” Jeffries said before that meeting, referring to the debt-ceiling provision. 

Earlier in the day, federal agencies began notifying employees who would have been furloughed had Congress not acted. The Transportation Security Administration had warned a shutdown could snarl holiday travel. 

Agency plans drawn up last year suggested the government would have furloughed about 737,000 employees, about 34% of the federal workforce. Those employees were guaranteed back pay once the government reopened, as were those who must continue to work.

Any senator could have objected to immediate passage and forced at least a short shutdown, but instead lawmakers agreed to allow votes on certain amendments in exchange for an expedited timeline. 

The Biden administration has warned that without boosts to funding in certain areas, a CR would force several agencies to cease hiring ahead of President-elect Trump’s inauguration. The Internal Revenue Service, Federal Aviation Administration, Veterans Affairs Department, Social Security Administration and Executive Office of Immigration Review have all suggested they will implement, or continue existing, hiring freezes without additional funding attached to the stopgap bill. The bill contained a provision to allow FAA to continue hiring and operating normally, though it did not address the other shortfalls.

This story has been updated with the result of the Senate vote.