Senate Passes Stopgap Funding Bill, Sending It to the House

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday night passed a bill to fund the government through Feb. 8, a stopgap measure intended to give congressional negotiators more time to iron out a longer-term spending bill. The legislation will be sent to the House and, if adopted, to President Donald Trump’s desk. Republican senators have said Trump would sign the legislation in order to avert a government shutdown ahead of Friday night’s midnight deadline. Just last week, though, Trump said he would be “proud” to shut down the government if Congress doesn’t fund a border wall. The measure the Senate approved on Wednesday night does not include increased funding for border security, and Trump’s allies are urging him to veto it. Conservative House members spent Wednesday arguing that Trump should veto the stopgap measure because it would be nearly impossible for him to secure funding for a border wall in February, when Democrats are in control of the House.