House passes funding bill to avert shutdown; it now goes to Senate

The House voted Wednesday to approve a bipartisan spending plan, bringing the United States a big step closer to avoiding a government shutdown.

The bill, which would fund the government through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, will go to the Senate, where it is expected to pass. The House voted 309 to 118 to approve the measure, as 103 Republicans voted against it.

It follows two days of partisan spin on the nearly $1.2 trillion measure, which came about after weeks of negotiations. The deal puts an additional $15 billion toward President Donald Trump's planned military buildup and $1.5 billion more for border security.

Democrats talked up how the deal lacks funding for a wall on the border with Mexico, and pointed out that it does not include some of the massive cuts to domestic programs that Trump wanted. The president and House Speaker Paul Ryan both focused on defense and border security spending as Republican victories.

On Tuesday, Trump called the bill a "clear win for the American people," while Ryan said "this is what winning looks like."

Irked by Democrats such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer highlighting what they deemed victories in the spending bill, Trump lashed out in tweets Tuesday morning. He targeted Senate rules that require 60 votes to overcome a filibuster on spending bills, therefore requiring compromise between the majority and minority parties.

He wrote that the country "needs a good 'shutdown' in September," when the current bill expires, to fix what he called a "mess."

Pressed to explain Trump's call for a shutdown Tuesday, Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said the president "is frustrated with the fact that he negotiated in good faith with Democrats, and they went out to try and spike the football and make him look bad."

Schumer chose not to counter Trump on the shutdown talk Tuesday.

"This is a good day, and it's a bipartisan day, so I'm not going to get into finger pointing," Schumer said. "It was a bipartisan negotiation as I said. The leaders — Democrat, Republican, House and Senate — work well together. And why ruin that?"

— The Associated Press contributed to this report