The White House announced on Saturday that President Trump had signed the Republican-crafted spending bill to avoid a government shutdown.
The Republican-crafted bill will fund the government until September 30 and marks the end of Trump’s first funding fight in his second term. The saga has also sparked an internal conflict among Democrats on Capitol Hill.
Trump had previously endorsed the legislation, which increases defense funding by $6 billion while cutting nondefense funding by $13 billion.
The deadline to avoid a government shutdown was 11:59 p.m. Friday, but the White House did not reveal that Trump’s signature was on it until midday Saturday. Trump is spending the weekend in Palm Beach and went out to play golf at Mar-a-Lago around 8:30 a.m.
The final Senate vote was 54-46, with two Democrats joining 52 Republicans to pass the bill. However, the key vote occurred earlier, when the Senate voted 62-38 to advance the legislation.
To clear that hurdle, a 60-vote majority was required, which was met by 10 Democrats and all but one Republican, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
The bill was able to move forward after Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) announced on Thursday that he would vote for it, infuriating House Democrats who had urged their upper chamber colleagues to oppose it.
On Friday, Trump repeatedly praised Schumer for supporting the bill, congratulating him for doing the “right thing” and later telling reporters, “I appreciate Sen. Schumer and I believe he did the right thing. I am really impressed by that.”
The Democratic divisions caused by the vote shattered the message of unity they hoped to convey after the House’s annual strategy retreat this week, eroding confidence within the party that Schumer will hold the line and block the GOP agenda in future legislative fights.
Schumer’s move was viewed as providing critical political cover for Democratic Senate centrists, who were locked in a tense internal debate over whether to vote for the bill and keep the government open. Meanwhile, a dozen House Democrats from tough districts voted against the measure on Tuesday.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D), who voted against the bill, declined to express confidence in Schumer’s ability to lead the party in the upcoming fights against Trump’s ambitious agenda.
