The United States government has passed a stopgap bill to prevent a government shutdown after an extended session of Congress on Saturday night.
CNN reports that the bill was proposed by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to avoid a midnight deadline for passing the budget. The new bill keeps the government operating until November 17th and was passed with bipartisan support following a failure of either party to garner the two-thirds majority for a unilateral bill.
House Speaker McCarthy faces significant criticism from within his own party for relying on Democrat votes to avoid a shutdown.
The bill includes disaster relief funding for areas of Hawaii struck by wildfires but not defense aid for Ukraine. A separate session of Congress is expected to approve defense aid before the final vote.
During the deliberations on the budget, a Democrat congressman was seen pulling the fire alarm in a presumed attempt to push off the vote and force the government past the midnight deadline.