The US Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill on Saturday to keep the government funded for 45 days.

The Senate overwhelmingly voted 88-9 just before a government shutdown was to go into effect.

The vote came after the House of Representatives approved the proposal of its Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy to keep funding going for 45 days.

“Let me tell you, today wasnt the choice we wanted to have,” McCarthy said, adding “But today, we’re able to move forward.” Disagreements between the Democratic and Republican parties hampered reaching an early agreement as a result of differing views on several issues, including the level of government funding for Ukraine.

Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a statement calling on McCarthy to advance a bill to the House Floor for an up-or-down vote that supports Ukraine, saying “we expect Speaker McCarthy to advance a bill to the House Floor for an up-or-down vote that supports Ukraine, consistent with his commitment to making sure that Vladimir Putin, Russia and authoritarianism are defeated.” ‘We must stand with the Ukrainian people until victory is won,” he added

Source: Qatar News Agency