Hours after more than 30 Republican members rejected a request from President-elect Donald Trump to use this measure to raise the country's debt ceiling, the US Congress is working hard to avoid a partial government shutdown on Friday.
On Friday evening, U.S. time, the House of Representatives approved the interim funding bill and sent it to the Senate for a vote.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has tried to develop an approach that could be narrowly approved by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and the Democratic-dominated Senate, with the budget funding deadline approaching at midnight on Friday.
“We're not going to have a government shutdown,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Los Angeles Republican, told reporters at the Capitol Friday afternoon.
"We will meet our obligations to our farmers in need of assistance and disaster victims across the country and make sure military and basic services and everyone who relies on the federal government pays for their salary during the holidays," he added.
If the closure occurs, it will have far-reaching effects. In addition to granting leave to hundreds of thousands of federal workers, and the Transportation Security Administration warns that the funding disruption will lead to longer queues at airports in the upcoming holiday season.
Conservative Republicans on Thursday rejected Trump's request to raise the debt ceiling, which could add trillions more to the government's $36 trillion debt.
After a day of debate, the House of Representatives approved Friday's bipartisan federal spending bill and sent it to the Senate, just hours before the midnight deadline for government funding.
It was unclear on Friday whether the Senate would be able to pass the bill before 12:00 a.m., when funding would technically run out.
The bill continues to fund the federal government at current levels for three months, providing disaster relief and agricultural assistance.
The bill was approved with significant support from Democrats and votes from two-thirds of the members present, a high volume that reflects both parties' desire to avoid a costly shutdown that could put the salaries of hundreds of thousands of federal employees at risk a few days before Christmas.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement following the House vote to pass the Republican resolution that he was "confident" that the Senate would also approve the measure.
"As I said, the only way to keep the government open is through bipartisan partnership," he added.
The Senate must follow the House and approve the bill to be sent to Biden's office and avoid shutdowns.
Trump stepped up his tone overnight, calling for a five-year suspension of the U.S. debt ceiling even after right-wing members of his party refused to extend it for two years in an earlier proposal.
“Congress has to get rid of the absurd or prolonged debt ceiling, maybe until 2029,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform just after one o'clock in the morning. Without this, we would never make a deal
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