Senate passes mammoth $1.2T spending package after brief partial government shutdown

Senate passes mammoth $1.2T spending package after brief partial government shutdown

The Senate passed a controversial six-bill government funding package on Saturday after a brief partial government shutdown. 

Senators voted in favor of passing the $1.2 trillion spending package by a vote of 74-24. The text for the group of bills was only unveiled in the early hours of Thursday morning, angering several Republicans in the upper chamber. 

The appropriations measures were considered in the House on Friday morning, ultimately passing by a vote of 286–134, with a majority of Republicans, 112, voting against them. 

Prior to the package's approval by the upper chamber, the outlook for avoiding a partial government shutdown looked bleak, as Republican senators claimed Democrats were unwilling to take up their requested amendment votes. 

It was only in the last hour that senators appeared to have reached an agreement, returning to the chamber floor and exchanging papers prior to beginning the voting process. 

HOUSE PASSES $1.2 TRILLION GOVERNMENT SPENDING BILL TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

A $460 billion funding package that included six of the twelve appropriations bills passed in both chambers earlier this month, despite vocal Republican opposition to the amount being spent, what the money is being put toward, and what they described as breaches of procedure.

The two-pronged appropriations process was outlined in a continuing resolution (CR) last month, which designated March 8 as the deadline for the first half of spending bills and March 22 for the last half. The stopgap measure was the fourth of its kind since the initial appropriations deadline of Sept. 30, 2023. 

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, told Fox News Digital it was an "utterly absurd, insulting and lawless suggestion that that is an appropriate legislative process." 

"This is a crazy way to run the country," added Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla.

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With the Senate's passage, the spending package now heads to President Biden's desk to be signed.