Government shutdown updates: Biden signs stopgap funding measure
The president signed the 45-day bill on Saturday night.
The U.S. seemed to be barreling toward what would have been one of the largest government shutdowns in history -- until a stopgap 45-day funding bill was hastily passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden on Saturday night, not long before the deadline.
Had lawmakers failed to reach an agreement, 3.5 million federal workers would have been expected to go without a paycheck, millions of women and children would have lost nutrition assistance, national parks would likely have closed and more.
The temporary legislation, which lasts until mid-November, affords more time for the House Republican majority and the Senate's Democratic majority to work out longer-term bills.
Latest headlines:
House continues debate on stop-gap; Jeffries begins 'magic minute'
House Democrats were successful in delaying the continuing resolution for more than an hour with their procedural motion to adjourn; 427 members cast votes on the motion giving leaders a strong sense of how many lawmakers are in town ahead of the suspension vote on the CR.
They’re now resuming debate on the continuing resolution. There are about 10 minutes left of debate.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is now delivering a "magic minute" floor speech. That "magic minute" is essentially untimed remarks on the floor for either the speaker of the house or minority leader.
Nancy Pelosi once carried on for over eight hours about DACA recipients in 2018. Kevin McCarthy broke the record in 2021, speaking for over 8 hours and 30 minutes.
"Strap in because this may take a little while," Jeffries said.
-ABC News' John Parkinson
Lawmakers scramble with 12 hours until government shutdown
The walls are closing in and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy knows he needs to do something. He admits he has to work with Democrats to get this done. And now he's daring them to vote against it.
His message to Republicans who may try to oust him for working with Democrats: bring it. But this move makes that even more of a possibility now.
There's a major scramble happening now with members rushing back and lawmakers huddled in every corner of the Capitol trying to figure out how to vote.
McCarthy didn't give them much time -- 25 minutes from the time the House was called back to review a 71 page bill and make a decision.
Democratic leaders are meeting now with their members -- who are livid they don't have more time to review the bill.
"Kevin McCarthy isn't the most trustworthy person in this building so I think it behooves all of us to make sure that what they say is in the bill is actually in the bill," Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., told ABC News.
-ABC News' Rachel Scott
Hours away from a shutdown, Republicans meet to discuss backup plans
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy huddled with Republicans behind closed doors Saturday morning -- where he is expected to make another plea for his party to unite around a short term solution to keep the government funded.
During Friday night's meeting, McCarthy told members they had few options:
Republicans are now considering whether to take up a stopgap measure that would keep the government funded for 45 more days with funds for disaster aid tied to it. No Ukraine aid. Nothing on the border. But that could change.
Why the disaster aid? Disaster aid is a priority for Democrats. McCarthy would likely needs their votes (there are several Republicans who said they'd never vote for a short term bill). If he puts it on the floor -- he would be daring Democrats to vote against it.
To make matters even more complicated, a short term solution could only create even more problems for McCarthy.
Several hardline Republicans say they would vote to oust McCarthy as Speaker if he worked with Democrats on any deal. And that is likely if they go down this path.
McCarthy floats two-week, clean short-term funding bill
Leaving a more than two-hour contentious GOP conference meeting, Speaker Kevin McCarthy is now floating a two-week, clean short-term funding bill with no attachments.
"I think if we had a clean one [CR] without Ukraine on it, we could probably be able to move that through. I think if the Senate puts Ukraine on there and focuses Ukraine over America, I think I think that could cause real problems," McCarthy said Friday.
McCarthy said "I think we can solve that" if the Senate sends a clean short-term measure with no Ukraine aid or any other attachments.
This is a significant change in position from McCarthy on the eve of a potential government shutdown.
"If they produce a clean ability to keep the government open while we finish our work and have gotten to our [appropriations] bills. I think we can solve that," he said.
McCarthy said if the Senate sends over its current proposal, then "it's probably leading to a shutdown."
The speaker claims he proposed to put a clean short-term funding bill on the floor but said "Democrats won't vote for it."
"So that would be a shutdown," he said.
McCarthy acknowledged "there are no winners in a government" but the conference is continuing to "work through trying to find a way out of this."
"I think it's productive that we keep the house open while we finish our work," he added.
-ABC News' Lauren Peller