US Passes Bill To Avoid Government Shutdown

The US Senate has voted to pass a budget deal to avert what would be the first federal government shutdown since 2019, only hours after the lower House of Representatives approved the same legislation.

The budget deal was passed shortly after a g deadline with an overwhelming margin of 85-11.

The bill does not include a demand from President-elect Donald Trump that lawmakers increase how much money the federal government can borrow, showing the limits of his ability to command lawmakers from his own party.

The bill now goes to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.

The Senate voted shortly after 00:30 (05:30 GMT), with most Democrats and Republicans supporting the measure.

Without a funding deal, millions of federal employees would have ended up either on temporary unpaid leave or left working without pay.

A shutdown would close or severely reduce operations for public services like parks, food assistance programmes, and federally funded preschools, as well as limit assistance to aid-reliant farmers and people recovering from natural disasters.

The last government shutdown was during Trump’s first term in 2019 and lasted 35 days – the longest in US history.

BBC/ Shakirat Sadiq