Democrats Aim to Keep Government Funded as Talks Continue on $3.5 Trillion Bill

Democrats raced to both avoid a government shutdown and salvage President Biden’s domestic agenda on Capitol Hill, with the Senate preparing to take up a short-term funding patch and advance one of the fiscal priorities lawmakers are weighing simultaneously.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) said that the chamber could vote as early as later Wednesday on a stand-alone measure extending government funding, currently set to expire on Friday at 12:01 a.m., through Dec. 3. Such a measure would likely garner GOP support, allowing it to quickly pass both chambers, though final negotiations over the funding bill could push the vote into Thursday.

That government-funding deadline is one of several scheduling crunches Democrats face in the coming days. The party also is hoping to bridge a rift between its progressive and moderate members over Mr. Biden’s agenda and approve a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure bill in the House in a vote currently set for Thursday.