Senate finds breakthrough on funding as government shutdown looms

The House of Representatives and the Senate are each resuming tense budget negotiations with the aim of securing a last-minute deal on government funding. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP

The Senate took a significant step to extend government funding beyond the end of the month, with just days left to avoid a shutdown that could force millions of federal employees to go without pay.

In a vote of 77 to 19, the Senate advanced a shell bill that will become a stopgap measure to fund the government through 17 November while directing roughly $6bn toward Ukraine’s war efforts and another $6bn toward disaster relief.