US Senate fails to pass budget by deadline, but is set to vote soon

The US Senate has failed to vote on the budget by the deadline, but agreement has been reached and a successful vote should take place in the early hours of Saturday.

Source: Reuters

Details: Late in the evening of 22 March, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced after lengthy negotiations between Democrats and Republicans that the parties had reached an agreement on a US$1.2 trillion budget that will provide funding until the end of September this year. 

However, the House failed to approve the budget before midnight, when the previously approved temporary funding for the government formally expired.

Earlier on Friday, the House of Representatives supported the draft.

If the vote in the early hours of Saturday is successful, as expected, the approved budget will go to President Joe Biden for his signature. 

The White House Office of Management and Budget has announced that federal agencies will not shut down due to a lack of funding, given the confidence that the Senate will be able to approve a full budget for two-thirds of government programmes by the end of the fiscal year, which ends on 30 September. 

Background:

• Earlier this month, Congress approved funding for one-third of all programmes. 
• As reported by the media, after the budget was approved in the House of Representatives, Trump supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene initiated the resignation of fellow party speaker Mike Johnson, accusing him of giving "too much away" to President Joe Biden and Democrats during negotiations on government funding. It is unclear whether she will be able to gather enough votes for her initiative.
• Earlier, Speaker Johnson said that a bill on supplementary funding to support Ukraine would be considered in the House of Representatives as soon as the issue of funding the federal government is resolved.

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