The 85-to-11 vote came shortly after the midnight deadline, averting a potential government shutdown that would have disrupted services and services just before the holiday.
The bill, which was also approved earlier in the House, provides USD 100 billion in disaster relief to communities recovering from the storm, delaying major budget decisions until 2025, when the next Republican-controlled Congress takes office.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, described the measure as a compromise that avoided the crisis but still contained key provisions for American families. “Although this bill doesn’t include everything Democrats fought for, there are major victories in this bill for American families,” Schumer said.
He pointed to “emergency aid for communities affected by natural disasters” and the prevention of “drastic cuts” in government programs as notable achievements. The law extends agricultural programs for one year and includes USD 10 billion in direct aid to farmers.
The bill’s passage ended days of unrest over the shutdown, which had become a focal point of partisan disagreement. President Biden signed the bill shortly after it passed the Senate, ensuring the government will remain funded despite last week’s chaotic political battles.
Earlier in the week, tensions rose when House Republicans initially included a provision to suspend the federal debt limit in a proposed funding bill. However, the provision was eventually dropped after pushback from Republican lawmakers, leading to a major defeat on the House floor, the New York Times reported.
Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, who has communicated with President-elect Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk about the conversation, confirmed that both men were aware of the direction of the discussion. “He knew what we were doing and why we were doing it,” Johnson said of Trump. “This is a good result for the country.”
The bill, while providing short-term funding, did not address the controversial issue of the federal debt limit, which has been a point of contention among Republicans.
With the debt ceiling problem unresolved, Republicans have signaled their intention to address it as early as 2025 through a separate legislative package, along with other budget concerns. “As House Republicans agree to raise the debt ceiling by USD 1.5 trillion in the first reconciliation package, we will cut USD 2.5 trillion in net mandatory spending during the reconciliation process,” Republican leadership said in the proposal, according to the New. The York Times.
Despite the last-minute compromise, the bill’s passage highlighted ongoing divisions within the Republican Party and between the two chambers of Congress. While the Senate passed the measure with relative ease, the House faced significant opposition from both sides of the aisle. Democrats, though unhappy with the final version, backed the bill to avoid a shutdown and potential economic turmoil.
“House Democrats have successfully stopped extreme MAGA Republicans from shutting down the government, crashing the economy and hurting working-class Americans across the land,” said Representative Hakeem Jeffrey, the Democratic leader.
“House Democrats have successfully blocked the billionaire boys’ club, which demanded a USD 4 trillion blank check by suspending the debt ceiling.”