Senate nudges stopgap funding forward to avert October shutdown

The Senate voted 89-4 to advance a stopgap funding bill that would keep federal agencies funded through December 11 at current levels, buying time to avert a government shutdown on Oct. 1 and paving the way for a final vote after lawmakers strike a bipartisan time agreement; the House has a different version, so identical passage is required. The measure also blocks any Trump administration plan to put political appointees in charge of grant approvals and withholds new funding for immigration enforcement during the stopgap, while separate debates over SNAP costs and the farm bill continue.