US lawmakers have reached a last-minute deal on a spending package to avert a federal shutdown, funding most of the government through September while kicking a high-stakes battle over immigration into next year.
Details of the $1tn package were still trickling out on Tuesday evening, a day later than lawmakers had hoped to reach an accord.
However, members of Congress appeared confident the bill could be approved by both the House and the Senate in the next few days — although a short-term funding measure may still be needed in the interim, some warned.
Congress has a deadline of midnight on December 11 to pass a budget to avert a shutdown similar to the 16-day impasse seen in October 2013 amid a fight over President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare reform law.
