DEMS/GOVERNMENT/SENATE/SPENDING/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Senate passed a stop-gap spending bill on Wednesday [12-19-18] night in an effort to keep the government funded and prevent a partial shutdown at the end of the week. A shutdown hasn’t been averted just yet: The measure will still need to be approved by the House of Representatives and signed by President Donald Trump before it can take effect. But the Senate’s passage of the short-term measure brings Washington one step closer to staving off a shutdown of some key federal agencies, set to expire at midnight on Friday, just days before Christmas. The Senate worked late into the night on Wednesday to pass the measure, which had appeared to have hit a snag earlier in the day over a push to advance public lands legislation. McConnell introduced the measure earlier on Wednesday to fund the remaining parts of the government through February 8, 2019. McConnell’s proposal has the backing of the top congressional Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, and top congressional Republicans have indicated they are optimistic that the President would sign the measure.”
–Clare Foran and Ted Barrett, “Senate passes stop-gap funding bill in effort to avert government shutdown,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, December 19, 2018 9:30 am