President Trump on Friday evening signed a short-term funding bill to keep the government open for another week while lawmakers negotiate a longer-term package.
The Senate earlier in the day passed the bill via voice vote, just hours before the government would have shut down. The House already passed the one-week continuing resolution (CR) on Wednesday.
With Trump’s signature, the funding deadline to keep the government open now moves to the end of the day on Dec. 18. Negotiators are still trying to secure a broader agreement that would include the 12 fiscal 2021 bills and fund the government until Oct. 1, 2021.
“I remain hopeful that essential progress on these items will continue. We ought to pass a full-year funding measure and I hope our committees in the Senate and House can complete their work and deliver legislation next week,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Friday afternoon.
The issues with quick passage of the CR came from both sides of the aisle. A group of GOP senators wanted votes on legislation related to preventing future government shutdowns, but ultimately backed down on Friday.
Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) are also pushing for a second round of stimulus checks. While they agreed to let the CR pass on Friday — because leadership went down to the deadline they needed cooperation from every senator — they warned that they were prepared to stall a funding bill next week if there is no agreement on economic relief.
