WASHINGTON – A federal government shutdown is averted after the Senate passed a six-month funding bill hours ahead of the midnight deadline Friday evening.
U.S. Sens. Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt, R-Ala., voted for the continuing resolution that will fund the government through the end of September. The vote was 54-46. Before the final vote, ten Senate Democrats joined all but one Republican voting to advance the bill in a procedural vote that ultimately led to the final passage.
“I want to give President Trump until September to find out what he needs to do to get us back on track to where we can get a budget done for the American people, but we can’t do it by shutting the government down Friday night,” Tuberville told Alabama Daily News.
Britt, who sits on the Appropriations Committee, said she supported the bill but wasn’t especially keen on a full-year continuing resolution as it forgoes the appropriations bills.
“However, when it comes to (fiscal year) ’26, I will be holding the Senate accountable to what it should be doing for the American people, which means actually passing appropriations bills,” Britt told ADN. “We worked really diligently in doing this.”
Don’t forget why a continuing resolution became the only funding option six months into FY25.
Last year, the Senate Appropriations Committee did our job – reporting 11 of 12 bills out of the Committee by the end of July with six of those passing unanimously. In the following…
— Katie Britt (@KatieBrittforAL) March 14, 2025
The funding bill mostly keeps last year’s funding levels the same, but it would boost defense spending by $6 billion and cut non-defense spending by $13 billion. The bill does not cover Social Security, Medicaid, or Medicare funding.
The continuing resolution cut earmarks, or congressionally directed spending requests, that lawmakers use to request federal money for projects in their state or district. Britt requested millions of dollars for multiple projects in Alabama, such as funding for Tuskegee University’s flight school, water and sewer infrastructure updates and health care projects.
“We have a number of meaningful projects that would make a foundational difference in Alabama,” Britt told ADN. “We will work diligently to fight for opportunity for Alabamians in (fiscal year) ‘26.”
The funding bill lacks specific instructions on how the money will be spent, which Democrats warned would give President Donald Trump and Elon Musk the power to cut the federal government as they see fit. Senate Democrats wrestled with how to approach the continuing resolution, weighing whether passing the funding bill or entering a government shutdown would be worse for the country; either way they contended they would lose.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the continuing resolution a “bad bill” but reiterated on the Senate floor that a shutdown would be an even worse option.
“…a shutdown would allow DOGE to shift into overdrive,” Schumer said. “It would give Donald Trump and DOGE the keys to the city, state, and country.”
The House passed the funding measure Tuesday almost entirely on party lines. Alabama’s Democrats opposed it and the state’s GOP members supported it.
Some House Democrats came out strongly against Schumer for supporting the bill, including Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Mobile. He joined a letter with 65 other House Democrats sent to Schumer, arguing against the continuing resolution.
“Republicans have continually refused to negotiate in good faith and reject bipartisan compromise while catering to President Trump and Elon Musk’s extreme agenda to dismantle the federal government from within,” the letter read.