Senate passes funding patch 90-6 to avert US shutdown through Dec. 11

The Senate voted 90-6 early Saturday to pass a short-term funding bill that would keep federal agencies operating through Dec. 11 and head off a government shutdown before the election. The measure moves unusually early, nearly two months before the Sept. 30 fiscal deadline, after lawmakers faced two shutdowns in the past year. The bill largely keeps spending at current levels but includes negotiated exceptions. Democrats added language blocking any transfer of money to the Border Patrol and beat back a White House request for $1 billion to begin work on a new “Trump-class” battleship. The package also delays a national ban on most intoxicating hemp products for one month, drawing objections from some Republicans.