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Dec. 19 (UPI) -- The Senate approved a stopgap measure late Wednesday to keep the federal government running until February, about 48 hours before the money runs out. Senators passed the bill by a voice vote, looking to provide funding for about 25 percent of the federal government for seven weeks through Feb. 8, as lawmakers sought to avoid a government shutdown heading into the holidays.
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The vote must still be passed by the House before being sent to President Donald Trump for final approval.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said the short-term spending bill would "ensure continuous funding for the federal government."
If the stopgap bill fails and the government runs out of money, it would be the third shutdown of Trump's presidency. The first one started on Jan. 20 and the second one on Feb. 9 lasted only a few hours.
Trump has demanded Democratic lawmakers support allocating $5 billion for construction of a border wall with Mexico in next year's budget. Without it, lawmakers may not pass another government funding bill.
"One way or the other, we will win on the Wall," Trump tweeted Wednesday.
"Mexico is paying (indirectly) for the Wall through the new USMCA, the replacement for NAFTA! Far more money coming to the U.S. Because of the tremendous dangers at the Border, including large scale criminal and drug inflow, the United States Military will build the Wall!"
The bill passed by the Senate didn't include any of the funding for Trump's border wall.
A White House aide said Trump is willing to sign a short-term bill to avoid a shutdown, which would come at midnight Friday if no more money is approved.
"He'll take a look at that certainly," adviser Kellyanne Conway said.
The stopgap kicks the can down the road to the 2019 Congress when Democrats assume control of the House, which will make it even harder for Trump to get funding for the border wall.
"That's probably the likeliest path at this point," Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said after a closed-door GOP lunch. "We're very close to being able to finish out the budget process, the appropriations process around here."
Trump approved a short-term spending bill earlier this month to avoid a shutdown.
After weeks of driving a hard line, the Trump administration is looking for ways to avoid the shutdown, Sanders said. In recent days, she added, Trump has asked cabinet secretaries to find other sources of funding in their budgets that could protect the country's southern border.
"We've laid out clearly what our parameters are with members of Congress," Sanders said. "We want to know what they can pass. We want to know what they can actually get done. ... In the meantime, we're looking at other areas where we can draw money from to make sure that the president can actually protect our border and protect American citizens."
This is contrary to Trump's statements last week when he told House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York that he would be "proud" to take the blame for shutting down the government, saying he's doing it for border security.
