(NewsNation) — The Senate is set to vote on the House-passed budget bill even as the federal government went into technical default at midnight ET.
The final vote happens after votes on as many as a dozen Republican-backed amendments. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced the agreement just before midnight.
Shortly after midnight, the White House said the Office of Management and Budget will not issue a shutdown order since the Senate’s final vote is on track. It says President Joe Biden will sign the budget bill Saturday.
While it may only be a couple of hours, the funding lapse caused the Defense Department to adjust its operations. It says all military personnel will continue to be on duty without pay until the budget bill becomes law. Civilian workers, however, are on a “non-work, non-pay status.”
None of the amendments are expected to pass because that would send the entire $1.2 trillion dollar package back to the House, which has begun a two-week recess.
Among the amendments was one to ban the government from funding the app that Customs and Border Patrol uses to allow people to apply for entry into the U.S. It failed on a party-line 51-45 vote.
“Taking a handful of votes on proposals that are related to this massive spending bill is not too much to ask,” said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., on X late Friday.
“Make no mistake, if the government shuts down, it will be because of one thing and one thing only: Democrat leaders protecting vulnerable incumbents from taking hard votes,” Thune wrote before Senate leaders agreed on taking those votes.
