Senate passes mammoth $1.2T spending package after brief partial government shutdown

The Senate passed a controversial six-bill government funding package on Saturday after a brief partial government shutdown. 

Senators voted in favor of passing the $1.2 trillion spending package by a vote of 74-24. The text for the group of bills was only unveiled in the early hours of Thursday morning, angering several Republicans in the upper chamber. 

The appropriations measures were considered in the House on Friday morning, ultimately passing by a vote of 286–134, with a majority of Republicans, 112, voting against them. 

Prior to the package's approval by the upper chamber, the outlook for avoiding a partial government shutdown looked bleak, as Republican senators claimed Democrats were unwilling to take up their requested amendment votes. 

It was only in the last hour that senators appeared to have reached an agreement, returning to the chamber floor and exchanging papers prior to beginning the voting process.