| The Senate passed a stopgap spending bill Thursday afternoon with relatively low drama, sending the shutdown-averting measure across the Capitol. House lawmakers are expected to clear the bill for President Joe Biden's signature Thursday evening, after Speaker Mike Johnson batted down last-minute demands from members of the House Freedom Caucus. Lawmakers have sailed through the passage process this week pretty quickly, with two motivating factors in mind: Avoiding the travel complications of a snowstorm forecast to hit Washington, D.C. on Friday and heading off a partial government shutdown set to hit just after midnight that night. Read the latest | 
