The US Senate has voted to pass a Republican spending bill before a midnight deadline to avert a government shutdown.
The short-term spending bill passed on Friday in a 54-46 vote to keep the government open through the end of September.
The bill, which was approved largely along party lines, will head to President Donald Trump's desk to be signed into law.
It includes a modest increase in defence spending and $13 billion in cuts to non-defence programmes, aligning with Republican commitments to reduce domestic spending, according to NPR news.
Democrats criticised the bill as a "blank check" for Trump, arguing it fails to curb the administration's efforts to slash the previously approved congressional spending.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Thursday that Democrats would vote to advance the continuing resolution (CR) that was passed in the House of Representatives, to lower the chances of a government shutdown on Saturday.
Schumer said from the Senate floor that while the CR bill is "very bad," the potential for a shutdown has consequences for America that are "much, much worse."
No other choice
Schumer argued that a shutdown would have allowed Musk and Trump to "destroy vital government services at a significantly faster rate than they can right now."
"Under a shutdown, the Trump administration would have wide-ranging authority to deem whole agencies, programs and personnel nonessential, furloughing staff members with no promise they would ever be rehired," Schumer wrote.
Shutdowns are rare but disruptive and costly, as everyday functions like food inspections halt and parks, monuments and federal buildings shut up shop.
Up to 900,000 federal employees can be furloughed, while another million deemed essential — from air traffic controllers to police — work but forego pay until normal service resumes.
Trump praised Schumer for having "guts" in a Truth Social post that hailed "a whole new direction and beginning" for the country.
"I appreciate Senator Schumer, and I think he did the right thing. Really, I'm very impressed by that," he told reporters later.
