The Senate passes the emergency spending bill while Congress moves to prevent a shutdown

The Senate was expected to pass legislation on Thursday to fund the government until early March, putting pressure on the House of Representatives to quickly follow suit to avoid a partial government shutdown starting Saturday.

Senator Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat and majority leader, cleared the way for an afternoon vote on the measure on Wednesday. It's meant to give Congress time to pass spending bills totaling $1.66 trillion to fund the government through the fall, keeping most federal spending steady and strengthening the military.

The legislation “will give Congress time to continue working on the appropriations process to fund the government for the remainder of the budget year,” Schumer said. “We hope the House will pass this bill before Friday's deadline, with bipartisan support.”

Speaker Mike Johnson, who negotiated the overall spending package with Mr. Schumer, has been criticized by the far-right faction in the House of Representatives for failing to push for bigger cuts. He will need a significant number of Democrats to support the measure, given expected Republican opposition.

Even considering that the bill represents a reversal from the speaker, who last year promised not to take on any more short-term spending packages. But time was running out to implement the 12 individual bills that fund the government, forcing the hand of Mr. Johnson, who does not want Republicans in the House of Representatives to be blamed for a disruption of government services down the road to the elections in November.

The timing of any House vote remains unclear, although leadership has left open the possibility of a quick vote after the Senate acts. A snowstorm is forecast for the Washington region on Friday, and lawmakers will be eager to get out of the city and avoid the possibility of flight cancellations that could keep them grounded in the capital this weekend.

To overcome procedural objections to rapid progress in the Senate, Mr. Schumer agreed to allow Republicans to propose three changes that would effectively derail the measure. But all are expected to fall short, paving the way for approval and a vote in the House of Representatives.

As he did in the fall with the previous relief bill, Mr. Johnson will have to use special procedures to get the measure through the House of Representatives, limiting debate and requiring a two-thirds majority that will likely include more Democrats . than Republicans.

Under the legislation, funding for agriculture, veterans programs, transportation, housing and other federal operations would be maintained through March 1, while funding for the rest of the government, including the Pentagon, would expire on March 8.

With the extra time, members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees hope to push through dozens of bills that would fund the government based on the spending levels Mr. Johnson and Mr. Schumer agreed to. But it won't be easy.

In addition to objections to the spending itself, far-right conservatives in the House of Representatives are demanding that the measures include restrictions on abortion and other limits on government authority that Democrats say they will not accept, setting up a showdown over those policy provisions.

“We still have an awful lot of work to do in a short period of time to pass serious appropriations legislation, free of partisan poison pills that protect important investments in our country's future,” said Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington and the chairman. . of the Senate Appropriations Committee.