Senate Advances Stopgap Bill to Avert a Partial Shutdown

The Senate on Tuesday took the first step in advancing a stopgap spending bill to avoid a partial government shutdown at the end of the week, buying time to enact a broader bipartisan funding agreement for the remainder of the year.

By a 68-to-13 vote, senators voted to take up the legislation, which would temporarily extend funding for some federal agencies until March 1 and for others through March 8. It would keep spending levels flat while lawmakers and aides hammer out the details of a $1.66 trillion deal reached between Speaker Mike Johnson, the Louisiana Republican, and Democrats.

The lopsided vote reflected broad backing in the Senate for a measure that faces a much more complicated path in the House, where far-right Republicans are in revolt over the spending agreement and refusing to back it. Their opposition means that Mr. Johnson is all but certain to be forced once again to turn to Democrats for help in passing crucial spending legislation, in a vote expected later this week.

“The key to finishing our work this week will be bipartisan cooperation in both chambers,” said Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader. “You can’t pass these bills without support from Republicans and Democrats in both the House and the Senate.”