If senators drag their feet, the government will still cease to be funded at midnight, and non-essential operations will start to grind to a halt.
The US House of Representatives voted on Friday to avert a government shutdown with just hours to spare, with Democrats joining Republicans to advance a funding bill keeping the lights on through mid-March.
Lawmakers sent a package to the Senate that would keep federal agencies running through mid-March – but the upper chamber only has until midnight (0500 GMT) to follow suit or federal agencies will begin shutting, news agency AFP reported.
Although the House is run by the Republicans, who introduced the bill, 34 of the party’s backbenchers voted against it, while almost every Democrat was a yes.
“Today, Democrats stood firm in our commitment to collaboration, not division. The American people deserve a government that works for them,” senior Democratic Congressman Bennie Thompson posted on X.
If senators drag their feet, the government will still cease to be funded at midnight, and non-essential operations will start to grind to a halt, with up to 875,000 workers furloughed and 1.4 million more required to work without pay.
This is a developing story. More details are awaited.
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