WASHINGTON — The path to averting a partial government shutdown by Friday night just became a little easier to see after a key procedural vote in the Senate showed broad bipartisan support for a temporary spending bill.
The Senate voted 72-23 on Tuesday to end debate on the motion to proceed to the continuing resolution, after top Democrats said they’d drop a contentious environmental policy rider that had drawn critiques from the right and left.
Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., agreed Tuesday to remove his energy infrastructure permitting proposal from the short-term spending bill, eliminating what had been the chief obstacle to bipartisan support. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the floor he accepted Manchin’s offer and would offer a new version without the permitting language.
