Saturday, 15 March 2025

US government shutdown averted as Senate passes spending bill

 Getty Images Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer

Getty Images
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer voted to allow funding to the government.

The US has averted a government shutdown after the Senate passed a Republican-led measure to keep the government funded for the next six months.

The stopgap funding bill passed in the Senate 54-46, as two Democrats joined all but one Republican senator in voting yes. President Donald Trump must now sign it into law before the Friday midnight deadline.

The key vote came earlier when some Senate Democrats, after fierce debate, allowed the measure to pass a procedural hurdle.

The Senate minority leader, Democrat Chuck Schumer, and nine others broke with their colleagues to vote to advance the bill to its final Friday evening vote.

Two Democrats - Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Independent Senator Angus King of Maine - voted in favour of its final passage. Schumer voted "no".

On Thursday, he announced he would vote to allow the measure to move forward, saying although it wasn't a bill he liked, he believed triggering a shutdown would be a worse result.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez called Schumer's willingness to let the spending bill proceed a "huge slap in the face", adding that there is a "wide sense of betrayal" among the party, according to the BBC's US partner CBS News.

She said supporting the bill "codifies the chaos and the reckless cuts that Elon Musk has been pursuing", and that Senate Democrats who voted yes would be empowering "the robbing of our federal government in order to finance tax cuts for billionaires".

The Democrats had agonised over whether to support the measure, and eventually pushed for a 30-day continuing resolution that was unlikely to earn enough support to pass.

Senator Ted Cruz accused the Democrats of conducting "political theater" and praised the bill's passage.

"The government is funded, let's get back to work," he said in a statement.

The passage is a victory for Trump and congressional Republicans.

On Friday morning, Trump offered rare bipartisan praise of Schumer's decision to let the bill advance, writing that "a non pass would be a Country destroyer, approval will lead us to new heights".

The legislation would keep much of the federal funding levels from the Biden Administration in place, with some key changes.

It increases military spending by $6bn (£4.6bn), for items like border security, veterans healthcare, and military spending. But would cut non-defence funding by about $13bn.

Local officials in Washington DC had feared the bill would result in a $1bn cut in federal funds for the city over the next six months. However, the Senate approved a separate bill that kept its current operating budget intact, the New York Times reported.

Alia Bhatt Hot PIC

 
Alia Bhatt is a British actress of Indian descent who predominantly works in Hindi films. Known for her portrayals of women in challenging circumstances, she has received several accolades, including a National Film Award and six Filmfare Awards. She is one of India's highest-paid actresses.
 Wikipedia

Born: March 15, 1993 (age 32 years), Mumbai, India
Spouse: Ranbir Kapoor (m. 2022)
Parents: Mahesh Bhatt, Soni Razdan
Siblings: Pooja Bhatt, Shaheen Bhatt, Rahul Bhatt





















Alia Bhatt is looking forward to her Cannes debut

Actress Alia Bhatt
Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt is going to make her debut at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. Earlier, stars like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Anushka Sharma, Sonam Kapoor have also walked the red carpet at this prestigious festival. This time Alia is going to add her name to this list. Recently, in a press conference organized with journalists on the occasion of her birthday, the actress had announced that she will make her debut at the upcoming Cannes.

Actress Alia Bhatt
The 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival will be held from May 13 to May 24. Its nominations will be announced in mid-April. The star, who is always loved by the audience through her acting, is ready to add another feather to her crown by making her Cannes debut.


However, before Alia, several Indians have participated in Cannes and won prestigious titles. For example, former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been participating in the film festival regularly since her debut in 2002. Deepika has also been regularly showcasing her beauty on the red carpet of Cannes since 2010. Apart from this, Sonam, Priyanka and Anushka are also in this list.

Last year, Payal Kapadia won the 'Grand Prix' for her film 'All We Imagine as Light'. Apart from this, Anusuya Sengupta became the first Indian to win the Best Actress award for the film 'The Shameless'. And last year, a short film titled 'Sunflowers War The First Ones to Know' made by Chidanand S Nair of FTII, Pune won the 'La Cinéphe' award.

Currently, Alia has several films in her hands. She was last seen in the film 'Jigra' opposite Vedang Raina. And now she is preparing herself for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film 'Love and War'. Ranveer's wife will also act in Yash Raj Films' upcoming film 'Alpha'.

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