US averts government shutdown

Bipartisan members of Senate leadership released a joint statement committing to vote on further funding for Ukraine aid "in the coming weeks," after Democratic Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet delayed the Senate's consideration of the short-term spending bill over concerns about the funding. 

"In the coming weeks, we expect the Senate will work to ensure the U.S. government continues to provide critical and sustained security and economic support for Ukraine," it says. 

Earlier Saturday, Bennet told reporters a bipartisan statement was exactly what he had hoped to see when he objected on the stopgap bill to keep the government open due to its lack of Ukraine funding.

"I think it's really important for us to send a message that the dysfunction that we have — in terms of this immediate question about opening or closing the government — doesn't reflect on our bipartisan commitment to make sure that the United States stays in this battle and that we continue to support the Ukrainian people in their in their fight,” he said.

When asked if he trusts the House, Bennet said, “We're gonna have to work every day between now and the next votes we take to make sure that the American people understand how important this is and and that Congress fulfills our obligation.” 

He said he is not aware of any timeline from leadership. 

Following the release of the bipartisan statement, Bennet in a separate statement addressed the need for Senate leadership to reaffirm support for Ukraine.

"I objected tonight to proceeding to the Continuing Resolution because it failed to provide additional money for Ukraine. Senate Leadership needed to reaffirm our bipartisan commitment to sustain funding for Ukraine. The Senate Leadership has released such a statement, and, as a result, I voted to keep the government open," he said in the statement.

CNN's Haley Talbot contributed to this post.

President Joe Biden praised bipartisan efforts to keep the government open tonight and funded through November but added that the last-minute scramble by House Republicans was a “manufactured crisis” that could have been avoided months ago.

“Tonight, bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate voted to keep the government open, preventing an unnecessary crisis that would have inflicted needless pain on millions of hardworking Americans,” the president said in a statement Saturday night, marking the passage of the stopgap bill.

Biden went on to slam House Republicans for a “manufactured crisis” saying, “We should never have been in this position in the first place. Just a few months ago, Speaker McCarthy and I reached a budget agreement to avoid precisely this type of manufactured crisis.”

Biden did reiterate his support for Ukraine, urging Congress to pass separate funding for assistance to Ukraine in the war against Russia.

“While the Speaker and the overwhelming majority of Congress have been steadfast in their support for Ukraine, there is no new funding in this agreement to continue that support. We cannot under any circumstances allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted,” he said.

The stopgap bill will fund the government through November 17. 

Earlier Saturday, a White House official said Biden is on standby right now to sign the short-term government funding bill as soon as it reaches his desk.

The nine Republican senators who voted against the stopgap funding bill are:

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer praised his colleagues for passing a stopgap spending bill to fund the government, averting a shutdown until mid-November. 

"I want to thank my colleagues here in the Senate, especially our appropriators," Schumer said, noting that the the bipartisan work in the chamber "set the tone" for the bill they were about to to pass.

"Our bipartisanship made this bill possible," added Schumer. "We will keep the government open for 45 days with a clean (continuing resolution), at current funding levels."

Schumer claimed victory, saying that "we avoided all of the extreme, nasty, and harmful cuts MAGA Republicans wanted," and he argued that the Senate had set the bipartisan example for the House.

The Senate has passed a stopgap funding measure within hours of its deadline to prevent a federal government shutdown.

The Senate vote was 88 to 9.

The Senate passed the measure Saturday evening after the House abruptly reversed course and passed a bipartisan bill to extend government funding earlier in the day just hours ahead of the deadline. The House vote came after days of uncertainty over whether a shutdown could be averted. The bill now goes to President Joe Biden’s desk for approval.

The bill would keep the government open through November 17 and includes natural disaster aid but not additional funding for Ukraine or border security. It also includes a measure to keep the Federal Aviation Administration operational. 

President Biden is on standby at the White House right now to sign the short-term government funding bill as soon as it reaches his desk, a White House official said.

Biden opted to stay in Washington this weekend – a rare occurrence – as a government shutdown had seemed almost inevitable even this morning. Officials said he spent much of the day in the Oval Office as he was briefed by senior advisers; he left the White House briefly earlier this evening to attend mass.

Colorado Democrat Michael Bennet told reporters that there will be a statement on US commitment to Ukraine soon, which was exactly what he had hoped to see when he objected on the stopgap bill to keep the government open. The bill does not include new aid for Ukraine.

"What I asked for exactly was a statement from leadership, a bipartisan statement from the leadership, and that's what we're gonna get," the senator told reporters.

He said he had signaled he would slow consideration of the spending bill "in the hope that when we get into the discussion in the second round here, that we've all thought about just as how important this is. We can't fail here."

Bennet added, "These votes on Ukraine are beyond politics and our responsibility as a nation here is beyond politics."

Both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke about supporting Ukraine during remarks on the Senate floor earlier.

House Democratic leadership said in a statement Saturday that they expect House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to bring a separate Ukraine aid bill to vote when the House returns. 

The statement, signed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, caucus chair Pete Aguilar and vice chair Ted Lieu, said that the House needs to show “renewing support for the valiant Ukrainian effort” by voting on additional Ukraine aid. 

This will be a key leverage if McCarthy needs the votes from his Democratic colleagues to survive a motion to vacate vote.

The Senate is now voting on a stopgap funding measure that passed through the House earlier Saturday with bipartisan support.

The last-minute bill is aimed at avoiding a government shutdown by temporarily funding the federal government ahead of a midnight deadline.

The Republican bill evolved rapidly this morning and ultimately earned the support of all but one Democrat in the House.

If passed through the Senate, the measure is expected to gain President Joe Biden's approval.