Trump signs stopgap spending bill, averting federal shutdown

Oct. 1 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump signed a stopgap spending bill on Thursday to keep the government running until the middle of December, sidestepping a looming federal shutdown at the last minute.

Trump signed the measure shortly after midnight, meaning the government's spending authority briefly lapsed as the fiscal year expired -- but operations continued uninterrupted during the short interval as the president returned from a campaign trip to Minnesota.

The Senate approved the continuing resolution by a vote of 84-10 earlier Wednesday, after the House overwhelmingly passed it last week.

The resolution continues government funding at fiscal 2020 levels and includes several other measures, including $8 billion in nutrition assistance programs.

The measure keeps the federal government open until at least Dec. 11, when lawmakers and the administration will need another continuing resolution or to approve a dozen funding bills for 2021 that are awaiting congressional action.

The Democratic House has passed 10 of the 12 spending bills, but the Republican Senate has not addressed any of them due to various political disagreements.

Analysts say the Nov. 3 elections are influencing the fate of the spending bills.