Trump Averts Federal Shutdown By Signing Stopgap Spending Bill

President Donald Trump signed a stopgap spending bill on Thursday to keep the government running until the middle of December, sidestepping at the last minute what had been a looming federal shutdown.

Trump signed the measure shortly after midnight, meaning the government's spending authority briefly lapsed as the fiscal year expired -- but operations continued uninterrupted during the short interval as the president returned from a campaign trip to Minnesota.

The Senate approved the continuing resolution by a vote of 84-10 earlier Wednesday, after the House overwhelmingly passed it last week.

The resolution continues government funding at fiscal 2020 levels and includes several other measures, including $8 billion in nutrition assistance programs.

The measure keeps the federal government open until at least Dec. 11, when lawmakers and the administration will need another continuing resolution or approve a dozen funding bills for 2021 that are already awaiting congressional approval.

The Democratic House has already passed 10 of the 12 spending bills, but the Republican Senate has not yet addressed any of them due to various political disagreements.

Analysts say the Nov. 3 elections are influencing the fate of the spending bills.