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[White House news: Trump signs $1.2 trillion GOP budget after 3am Senate vote]

Muhammad Asghar | GlobalBeat

President Donald Trump signed a $1.2 trillion federal funding package at 6:47 a.m. Friday, capping a 19-hour scramble that kept the government open with barely 3 hours to spare.

The Senate passed the bill 65-32 at 3:04 a.m. after Senator Rand Paul’s lone filibuster collapsed when fellow Republicans refused to back his demand for deeper cuts.

The shutdown threat had rattled markets Thursday and forced the cancellation of Trump’s planned trip to Mar-a-Lago for a fundraiser. White House aides said the president slept only 90 minutes overnight while monitoring the Senate vote from the residence.

The package funds 70% of the federal government through September 30, including the Pentagon, Homeland Security and the National Institutes of Health. It sidelines Trump’s biggest demands, including mass deportation funding and new border wall money, until a separate fight this fall.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters the deal “kept the lights on” but acknowledged conservatives were unhappy. “We live to fight another day,” Thune said after the vote.

The late-night drama began Wednesday when House Speaker Mike Johnson brought the bill to the floor with only 36 hours until a shutdown. Hard-right Republicans revolted, forcing Johnson to rely on Democratic votes to pass it 245-182 early Thursday.

Trump wavered twice, first telling allies he might oppose the measure, then reversing after Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought warned a shutdown would delay tax refund checks. The president signaled support via Truth Social at 10:15 p.m. Thursday, urging senators to “get it done.”

Senator Paul spoke for 4 hours and 13 minutes, blocking an early vote while demanding $120 billion in additional cuts. “Nobody reads these bills,” Paul declared around 1 a.m., waving a 1,012-page copy. His colleagues left the chamber one by one, missing the 60-vote threshold to break the filibuster.

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer eventually called the vote at 2:45 a.m., calling Paul’s stunt “reckless political theater.” The Kentucky Republican’s microphone cut out mid-speech when his time expired; he voted no and left.

Federal agencies had already begun shutdown preparations. The National Park Service ordered monuments closed by 8 a.m. Saturday. The Pentagon drafted furlough notices for 200,000 civilian workers. Airport security lines grew longer as TSA officers weighed working without pay.

White House officials said Trump signed the bill from the Oval Office, flanked by Vought and acting chief of staff Susie Wiles. The president then tweeted a video of the signing, captioned “PROMISES KEPT,” though the measure includes none of his immigration priorities.

Conservative anger erupted immediately. House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Biggs called the bill “a betrayal of voters.” Senator Ted Cruz voted no, tweeting “Republicans got rolled again.” Outside groups including Heritage Action urged primary challenges against Republicans who voted yes.

Financial markets breathed easier. Futures on the S&P 500 jumped 0.9% overnight after the Senate vote. The dollar strengthened against the euro. Analysts at Goldman Sachs estimated a 3-week shutdown would have shaved 0.2 percentage points off second-quarter GDP.

Background

Congress has funded the government through stopgap measures since October 1, 2025, when the last full-year budget expired. Lawmakers passed three short-term bills totaling $1.8 trillion while negotiating the current package. The repeated brinkmanship reflects Republicans’ narrow 218-217 House majority and Trump’s demand to use spending bills as leverage for immigration restrictions.

The last government shutdown ended January 25, 2025, after 34 days, when Trump agreed to reopen agencies without wall funding. That episode cost the economy an estimated $11 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Veterans benefits were delayed, food stamp issuance was disrupted, and air travel slowed nationwide.

What’s Next

Congress must tackle the remaining 30% of federal funding by September 30, setting up a pre-election clash over Trump’s border wall, IRS funding levels, and potential cuts to Medicaid. House Republicans plan to unveil a separate bill next month attaching deportation money to disaster relief, daring Democrats to block aid for hurricane victims.

The debt ceiling will be reinstated July 31, requiring another vote to avoid default. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned lawmakers the “extraordinary measures” buying time could run out by October. Budget hawks vow to demand spending caps in exchange for raising the borrowing limit, teeing up another standoff weeks before the midterms.

Trump departs Friday afternoon for a weekend rally in North Carolina, where he will claim credit for averting shutdown while blaming Democrats for blocking his agenda. advisers say the president wants to make government funding a central campaign issue, believing voters will reward him for keeping agencies open.

The White House budget office now begins writing guidance for agencies on how to spend the new money. OMB must submit a mid-session review by July 15 detailing whether programs are meeting Trump’s performance targets. Expect more fights this summer when conservatives demand rescissions of funds they say are wasteful.