Senate Approves Omnibus to Avoid Shutdown

The Senate on Thursday approved 79-18 an omnibus spending bill to keep agencies open through September, which is now heading to President Trump’s desk for his signature.

Agencies' funding is set to expire Saturday morning, but a shutdown will now almost certainly be avoided as the White House put out a statement this week saying the president would sign the measure. The deadline was initially one week prior, but lawmakers gave themselves a few extra days with a stopgap measure to finalize their longer-term spending package.

The appropriations measure combines 11 different bills setting line-by-line spending levels at agencies across government through September. Only full fiscal 2017 funding for the Veterans Affairs Department and military construction is already in effect. Agencies will receive a total of about $1.1 trillion, including the money they already received through the continuing resolutions that have been in place since October.

The House approved the omnibus on Wednesday, with more than 100 Republicans voting against it and nearly all Democrats supporting it.

The White House has indicated Trump would sign the measure, despite Democrats claiming victory due to a lack of funding for several key Trump priorities. The bill also does not make dramatic cuts to domestic agency spending, as the administration had requested. Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney has briefed reporters three separate times since the omnibus deal was announced to detail the White House priorities that were supported by the bill.

While lawmakers were able to stave off a shutdown this time around, Trump has indicated he may push for one during the next round of negotiations. For more details on the omnibus bill, click here.