The Senate passed a bill on Saturday that would extend government funding to December 11 in a bid to avert a shutdown ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. The chamber moved to tackle the funding deadline over a month in advance of the September 30 deadline.

Funding Bill Details

The bill passed by the Senate would next have to be taken up by the House, where its fate is uncertain as that chamber has already passed an alternative measure. The Senate measure differs from a funding extension passed by the House in several ways, including a lack of funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.

The Senate vote to pass the funding bill came in the early hours of Saturday morning, as senators attempted to wrap up a number of legislative items before departing Washington to return to their home states for the August recess. Ultimately, in addition to adopting the measure to extend government funding into December, the Senate also confirmed acting attorney general Todd Blanche as the permanent head of the Department of Justice.

Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.