Senate passes $1.2 trillion government funding bill, sending it to Biden

WASHINGTON — The Senate voted 74-24 early Saturday morning to pass a sweeping $1.2 trillion government funding bill after heated last-minute negotiations caused senators to breach the midnight deadline to avert a shutdown.

But the funding lapse was brief and technical, having no meaningful impact as the White House said it has "ceased shutdown preparations" due to a Senate agreement, which came after Republicans demanded votes on a series of amendments.

The legislation, which passed the House on Friday morning by a vote of 268-134, now goes to President Joe Biden, who has said he'll sign it into law. It completes a turbulent government funding process during the divided government, featuring a year of haggling, six months of stopgap bills and intense partisan clashes over money and policy along the way.

Once Biden signs the package into law, the full government will be funded through the end of September, after Congress passed a previous $459 billion tranche of money earlier this month. The total spending level for the fiscal year is $1.659 trillion.

"Nothing's easy these days," Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told NBC News after midnight while the Senate was voting, but said it was significant for Congress to pass all 12 appropriations bills in a year.

"Given the dysfunction of the House and slim majorities here you know, there's something to be said for the fact that we finally got this done," Murphy said.

The new tranche will fund the departments of State, Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, among other parts of the government that had not yet been fully funded.

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