Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet held up the vote on the continuing resolution (CR) to avoid a government shutdown on Saturday night, citing concerns about its lack of funding for Ukraine, sources tell Fox News.
The holdup came after the House approved the short-term spending bill Saturday afternoon, passing 335-91. It later passed the Senate late Saturday night with 88 yeas to 9 nays.
The bill, whose passage caused members of Congress to applaud amid the pressure of a government shutdown, will fund the government for another 45 days. The bill authorizes $16 billion in disaster relief, but does not include relief to Ukraine — which Bennet, a Democrat, objected to.
Bennet told reporters that he was still able to make progress across the aisle in regard to giving more aid to Ukraine, which has been warring with Russian troops for a year-and-a-half.
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“It’s worked out because we were able to get a statement from the leadership that’s going to be released soon, talking about the bipartisan support for fully funding Ukraine and making sure that we fulfill a role that the entire world is relying on us to fulfill,” Bennet said.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., previously said Saturday afternoon that she expected a “major, major fight on Ukraine.”
“And I’m sure you’ll hear from the President and the commander-in-chief of how we will make sure there will be uninterrupted aid to Ukraine,” Klobuchar said. “That is going to be our number one goal.”
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Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told reporters Saturday evening that she expected the Ukraine matter to be resolved before midnight “in order to avoid a shutdown.” Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin told Fox News that he didn’t know how long it would take for Bennet to agree on the CR.
If the Senate rejected the bill, thousands of federal employees would have been furloughed and “nonessential” government programs would have paused indefinitely.
Fox News Digital reached out to Bennet’s office for comment, but has not heard back.
