Federal Government Policy and Business

Brief government shutdown ends as Trump signs spending bill

The Washington Post: Congress moved to end a five-hour government shutdown early Friday morning after the House voted to support a massive bipartisan budget deal that stands to add hundreds of billions of dollars in federal spending on the military, domestic programs and disaster relief. The 240-to-186 House vote gaveled to a close just after 5:30 a.m., nearly four hours after the Senate cleared the legislation on a vote of 71 to 28, with wide bipartisan support. But action did not come soon enough to avoid a brief government shutdown — the second in three weeks — thanks to a one-man protest from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who delayed the Senate vote past midnight to mark his opposition to an estimated $320 billion addition to the federal budget deficit. President Trump tweeted that he signed the bill, officially ending the second shutdown of his presidency. “Just signed Bill,” he wrote. “Our Military will now be stronger than ever before.

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