Lawmakers Strike Spending Deal but Government Shutdown Still Looms

Top lawmakers announced a deal on Thursday to keep the government funded through mid-February, but a group of Senate Republicans was still threatening to force a shutdown over the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for large employers.

With less than 48 hours before funding is set to lapse, the House was expected to vote later Thursday to keep the government open through Feb. 18 and provide $7 billion for the care and resettlement of Afghan refugees. But the fate of the measure was uncertain in the Senate, where unanimity would be needed to expedite its passage before a midnight deadline on Friday, and a few Republicans signaled they would object.

Leaders in both parties have warned against a government shutdown, and some Republicans said they were optimistic that they could unite their ranks behind the legislation in time to avert a lapse in funding.