Congress passes spending bill, sends to Trump to end shutdown

WASHINGTON: The US Congress passed a crucial federal spending bill Friday after hours of delay, sending the measure to President Donald Trump to end the nation's second government shutdown in three weeks.

The House voted 240 to 186 in support of a bipartisan package that extends government funding until March 23 and lifts federal spending limits by nearly $300 billion over the next two years, after the Senate cleared the measure in the middle of the night.

Congress had missed a midnight deadline when a conservative senator refused to allow an early vote on the compromise bill, but now a signature by Trump, who supports the deal, will reopen government offices.