US government shutdown ended after House narrowly passes bipartisan budget measure
A shutdown of the US federal government has been ended after the House narrowly voted to pass a two-year budget.
The measures have passed the Senate and the House but still need to be signed off by President Donald Trump.
Federal funding for government services expired at midnight in Washington after the Senate missed a voting deadline.
Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul objected to deficit spending in the bill and carried out a nine-hour protest and floor speech that leaders could not stop.
Mr Paul’s dissent dragged the Senate proceedings into the small hours of Friday morning, well past the deadline, underscoring the inability of Congress to deal with Washington’s most basic obligation to keep the government open.
The shutdown was the second this year under the Republican-controlled Congress and Mr Trump.
“Republican majorities in the House and Senate have turned the [budget] process into an embarrassing spectacle, running from one crisis directly into the next,” said Democratic Representative Nita Lowey ahead of the House vote.
After an all-night session of debating and voting, the bill ending the shutdown finally won House passage only after Democrats provided enough votes to offset the opposition of 67 Republicans, a remarkable rebellion in the party’s ranks.
While Mr Paul’s performance in the Senate strained the patience of his colleagues, many House Republicans disagreed with the proposed deficit spending measures.
The budget bill raises military and domestic spending by almost $300bn (£216bn) over the next two years. With no offsets in the form of other spending cuts or new tax revenues, that additional spending will come from borrowed money.
