The Senate took a procedural step Friday toward finally approving the fiscal 2024 spending package, but a brief partial shutdown remains possible.
Senators will need to overcome lingering Republican resistance to get the six-bill minibus to the president’s desk before midnight, when a number of federal agencies — including EPA, the Department of the Interior and the Department of Energy — would run out of money.
“I want to offer my colleagues a warning: If we do not act, at midnight tonight we will have a partial government shutdown,” said Maine Sen. Susan Collins, the chamber’s top Republican appropriator.
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“I would urge my colleagues to stop playing with fire here,” she said.
