WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on Congress and spending legislation (all times local):
1:35 a.m.
A bipartisan budget pact has cleared a key hurdle in the Senate and should shortly be sent to the House as lawmakers work in the pre-dawn hours to re-open the government.
The measure’s advance had been delayed by Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul, who protested the budget-busting measure. It’s married to a six-week government-wide spending bill that’s required to reverse the shutdown.
Early Friday, Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney issued an order to close non-essential government operations.
A vote to pass the measure through the Senate began immediately.
But the bill’s path through the House could prove dicey. There, liberal Democrats and tea party conservatives have swung into opposition.
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12:35 a.m.
The Office of Management and Budget has officially ordered the U.S. government closed.
OMB Director Mick Mulvaney issued the order at midnight, notifying federal agencies they should execute their contingency plans.
Mulvaney’s notice says federal employees should report to work Friday to “undertake orderly shutdown activities.”
He notes that his office is “hopeful that this lapse in appropriations will be of short duration.”
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12:30 a.m.
Vice President Mike Pence says the Trump administration is “hopeful” the government shutdown that began at midnight will not last long.
Pence is in South Korea, where he is leading the U.S. delegation to the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. He says the White House hopes Congress moves swiftly to approve a two-year budget agreement.
Pence says he has been in contact with the White House legislative office and President Donald Trump about the shutdown, but indicates he hasn’t been directly involved in conversations with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
“Our hope is that the bipartisan agreement reached in the Senate will be passed and sent to the House,” Pence says, adding, “We’re on standby as the vote approaches.”
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12:01 a.m.
The federal government has shut down after a quarreling Senate blew a midnight deadline to pass a temporary funding bill.
Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney immediately implemented plans to close non-essential government operations, says spokesman John Czwartacki.
A Senate vote on a stopgap funding bill is expected early Friday morning. A sweeping bipartisan vote is expected on the measure, which is attached to a huge budget agreement, but the timing and outcome of a House vote are less certain.
Essential government functions will continue regardless.
A shutdown - technically a lapse in agency appropriations - became inevitable as GOP Sen. Rand Paul repeatedly held up votes on the budget plan, protesting its likely contribution to budget deficits that are soon to top $1 trillion.
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11 p.m.
A short government shutdown is assured as the Senate has recessed until just after a Thursday midnight deadline to pass a temporary funding bill.
Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul sparked the shutdown after blocking repeated attempts by GOP leaders to speed up a vote on the stopgap funding bill, which is attached to a huge bipartisan budget agreement.
Paul is protesting that the bill would usher in the return of trillion-dollar budget deficits.
The Senate is likely to vote to reopen the government in the wee hours Friday. A House vote would follow, but it’s possible that federal agencies will have to implement temporary shutdown plans if clearing the funding bill takes too long.
Essential government functions will continue regardless.
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9:45 p.m.
Vice President Mike Pence’s trip to the Olympics will be unaffected by a potential U.S. government shutdown.
Pence is set to lead the U.S. delegation to the opening ceremonies of the Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Friday evening. An official who was unauthorized to speak publicly on the matter says the vice president’s trip will continue as planned even if Congress doesn’t act before midnight to keep the government open.
White House officials say the trip’s diplomatic and national security aims - which revolve around highlighting North Korea’s human rights abuses and nuclear program - meet the criteria for critical spending during a lapse in federal funding.
Pence traveled to the Middle East during the three-day January government shutdown, with aides citing the same exception.
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7:55 p.m.
Sen. Rand Paul says he is prepared to keep the Senate in session all night to protest a bipartisan budget deal that increases the federal deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars.
The Kentucky Republican says he expects the Senate to vote on the budget bill after 1 a.m. Friday - and possibly several hours after a midnight deadline to avert a second government shutdown in three weeks.
Paul tells The Associated Press he knows his protest against the bill is likely to fail, but says it is important to point out that the last-minute agreement could increase the federal deficit by as much as $1 trillion.
He says senators will likely pass the bill, adding, “They’ll be tired and ornery, but it’s their own fault.”
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7:40 p.m.
The No. 2 House Democrat says it’s time for a 24-hour stopgap spending bill to avert any chance of a government shutdown at midnight Thursday.
Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland says Democrats would support such a move.
Hoyer’s overture comes as Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is holding up action in the Senate, demanding a vote to cut back the measure’s spending totals.
A House GOP aide says leaders are not inclined to take Hoyer up on his offer, and says they are determined to vote even if there is a brief shutdown. The aide requested anonymity because leadership deliberations are secret.
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6:45 p.m.
The Trump administration is preparing for the second federal government shutdown in as many months.
The Office of Management and Budget says it is currently preparing for a lapse in appropriations. Lawmakers are facing a midnight deadline to keep the government open.
But Sen. Rand Paul is holding up a vote on the Senate budget deal, accusing Republicans and Democrats of “spending us into oblivion.”
The pending deal must first pass the Senate, then the House and be signed into law to avoid a government shutdown. The deal appears to have the votes to pass, but rules of the Senate allow individual senators to hold up the process.
The administration is urging Congress to pass the plan and send it to the president’s desk without delay.
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6:05 p.m.
Sen. Rand Paul is holding up a vote on the Senate budget deal, saying he can’t in “all good faith” move ahead with the deal without more debate.
The Kentucky Republican says he came to Congress to fight deficits. But now, he says, Republicans and Democrats are “spending us into oblivion.”
Lawmakers are facing a midnight deadline. The deal pending in the Senate must first pass the Senate, then the House and be signed into law to avoid a government shutdown. The deal appears to have the votes to pass, but rules of the Senate allow individual senators to hold up the process.
Paul brushed off pleas from Senate leaders.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says, “It’s time to vote.” Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says, “We’re in risky territory here.”
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6 p.m.
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is telling House Democrats to “do what you want to do” as the chamber approaches a vote on a bipartisan budget deal that would avert a government shutdown after midnight.
That’s according to Oregon Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader. He spoke as he left a closed-door meeting of party lawmakers.
Senate passage is expected Thursday evening. A House vote would follow, in which majority Republicans will likely need several dozen Democratic votes to assure passage.
Many Democrats say they’ll oppose the measure because it doesn’t have language protecting hundreds of thousands of young “Dreamer” immigrants from deportation.
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1:08 p.m.
The White House says it supports Senate passage of a budget deal that would funnel an additional $300 billion to the Pentagon and domestic programs over the next two years.
The White House budget office says the agreement lays the groundwork for full funding of the military, a top priority for President Donald Trump.
The deal also spends more on other administration priorities, including infrastructure and the opioid drug epidemic.
Senate leaders are working to approve the measure Thursday and send it to the House for passage before the government begins to shut down at midnight.
The budget office says it would recommend to Trump that he sign the measure into law if Congress sends it to him in its current form.
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12:33 a.m.
Opposition from Democratic liberals and tea-party Republicans in Congress may imperil a budget deal reached by Senate leaders to keep the government operating past midnight Thursday.
The bipartisan compromise would provide the Pentagon and domestic programs with an extra $300 billion over the next two years. That additional spending worries some deficit-minded Republicans, and some Democrats are unhappy that immigration isn’t part of the measure.
To that end, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi staged a record eight-hour speech arguing in favor of legislation for young immigrants in the country since childhood who face deportation.
The White House backs the Senate deal. Senate leaders hope to approve the measure Thursday and send it to the House for approval. But hurdles remain to avert the second shutdown in a month.
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