Government shutdown updates: Biden signs stopgap funding measure

The Senate is now voting on the House-passed short-term funding bill. The bill, which funds the government for 45 days and provides funding for disaster relief, is expected to pass overwhelmingly. It'll need 60 votes to clear the Senate.

Once the bill passes the Senate, it will head to President Joe Biden's desk for his signature just hours before a shutdown.

After a day of upheaval about how to proceed, all Senators present agreed to move forward with this vote on Saturday. That doesn't mean they were happy with it.

The thorn in the side of a lot of Senators Saturday is that they're passing a stopgap funding bill with no Ukraine aid attached. There are Democrats and Republicans in the Senate who are deeply unhappy with the anti-Ukraine sentiments and the fact that Congress failed to deliver more support to Ukraine just one week after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came hat in hand.

The anger about moving forward without Ukraine aid was so intense that it caused the Senate to stall for several hours while waiting to pass the bill.

Colorado Democrat Michael Bennet stopped the Senate from voting for several hours until he received assurances that there would be a vote on supplemental aid to Ukraine. Bennet was ultimately satiated by commitments on the floor from both Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell that Ukraine aid would remain an urgent topic of discussion in the upper chamber.

"I have very good news for the country. Democrats and Republicans have come to an agreement and the got will remain open we will have avoided a shutdown," Schumer said. "The bipartisanship which has been the trademark of the Senate has prevailed and the American people can breathe a sigh of relief, but this is a bridge CR and Leader McConnell and I have agreed to continue fighting for more economic and security aid for Ukraine. We support Ukraine's efforts to defend its sovereignty against Putin's aggression."

McConnell echoed those sentiments.

"Most Senate Republicans remain committed to helping our friends on the front lines by investing more heavily in American strength that reinforces our allies and deterring our top strategic adversary: China. I'm confident the Senate will pass further urgent assistance to Ukraine later this year but let's be clear the alternative to our action today was an entirely avoidable government shutdown that would not just pause our progress on these important priorities it would actually set them back," he said.

It's not clear exactly how the Senate will proceed with trying to fund Ukraine. A number of options were floated Saturday that the Senate will continue to work through when it returns next week.

-ABC News' Rachel Scott, Allie Pecorin and Mariam Khan

The Senate is not voting, as the clock is ticking toward a government shutdown.

Earlier Saturdayday the House passed its short-term funding bill, which funds the government for 45 days and provides disaster aid. But the Senate has been in recess for a few hours now and is running out of time to pass the House bill before the midnight deadline.

All Senators in the chamber have to agree to hold a vote tonight. Right now, one is standing in the way.

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., is demanding that Senate leadership assure him they'll hold a vote at some point soon on additional funding for Ukraine, which the House stripped out of the bill. If they can't assure him, he might block the Senate from holding a vote Saturday night.

It's not yet clear what the way out of this is. Sources are generally optimistic they'll find a work around before the clock strikes midnight, but it could be a nail-biter.

-ABC News' Rachel Scott and Allison Pecorin

Speaking to reporters after the House vote, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., struck a bipartisan tone -- and told those members who want to oust him because he worked with Democrats to "bring it."

"It's all right if Republicans and Democrats joined together to do what is right," McCarthy said. "If somebody wants to make a motion against me, bring it. There has to be an adult in the room."

Asked by ABC News if he was satisfied with the final tally, which had largely Democratic votes, McCarthy said: "I think at the end of the day, we kept the government open, kept paying our troops to finish the job we have to get done."

McCarthy said he had "tried every possible way listening to every single person in the conference."

"I don't want to be a part of that team,” he continued, referring to the far-right members of the Republican party. "I want to be part of a conservative group that wants to get things done."

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McCarthy reacts after House passes a 45-day stopgap spending bill

Speaker Kevin McCarthy discussed the passing of a 45-day stopgap spending bill Saturday amid the looming government shutdown.

ABCNews.com

-ABC News' Rachel Scott and Benjamin Siegel

Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-NY, "regrets" triggering a building alarm in the Cannon House Office Building earlier Saturday, a spokesperson said.

"Congressman Bowman did not realize he would trigger a building alarm as he was rushing to make an urgent vote. The Congressman regrets any confusion," his spokesperson, Emma Simon, said in a statement to ABC News.

The fire alarm was triggered at 12:05 p.m. on the second floor of the building, according to a U.S. Capitol Police spokesperson. The building was evacuated and reopened after officers determined there was no threat.

"An investigation into what happened and why continues," the Capitol Police spokesperson said.

The alarm went off as Democrats were scrambling to make it back to the Capitol to vote and buy themselves more time to review the GOP bill.

-ABC News' Rachel Scott, Lauren Peller, John Parkinson, Jay O'Brien and Benjamin Siegel