US averts govt shutdown as Congress passes funding bill after Democrats drop plans to oppose

WASHINGTON: The United States on Friday managed to avert a government shutdown with hours to spare for the midnight deadline, as the Democrats dropped plans to block a funding bill supported by Donald Trump, and voted to keep the lights on through September.
The backing down by the Democrats cleared the path for the bill to be approved by the Senate, dominated by the US President-led Republicans. The proposal, drafted by the Republicans, was passed earlier this week by the House.
Ted Cruz, the Republican chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, accused the Democrats of attempting to 'delay the inevitable.'
"In their typical fashion, Senate Democrats engaged in political theater to delay the inevitable and cause instability," Cruz said.
"Americans voted for change under President Trump and Republican leadership after four years of chaos. The government is funded, let's get back to work," he added.

Ahead of the crunch vote, Chuck Schumer, the Democrats' leader in the upper chamber, shocked his rank and file by announcing he would back the proposal.
Despite pressure from their own grassroots to defy Trump, 10 Democrats, apprehensive they could be blamed over a shutdown with no obvious exit to it, backed down, and allowed the bill to advance to a final floor vote, where it only needed Republican support.
Earlier, Schumer had warned a shutdown could play into the hands of Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE, and distract from DOGE's most unpopular actions, which now include firing half the Education Department's workforce.
"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 in an op-ed in The New York Times defending his decision to support the package.
This was not enough to pacify the grassroots Democrats, who accused the veteran campaigner of 'betrayal' and 'caving.'
More than 100 demonstrators gathered early outside Schumer's Brooklyn residence and raised slogans against him and the Democrats.

Meanwhile, taking to his Truth Social platform, Trump praised Schumer for having 'guts.'
"I appreciate Senator Schumer, and I think he did the right thing. Really, I'm very impressed by that," he told reporters later.
(With AFP inputs)