The Senate convened Monday after it voted to advance a proposal that could reopen the federal government.
But Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has slowed any movement on Capitol Hill after raising concern over a provision regarding hemp production.
Eight centrist and retiring Democrats joined Republicans on Sunday night in approving a plan to fund the government through January because it included a promise from Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to hold a vote on ObamaCare subsidies before the year ends. Thune plans to amend the House-passed legislative vehicle with the deal.
The compromise — reached over a weekend that included a legal battle over funding food assistance and increasing airport turmoil with Federal Aviation Administration flight cuts — includes language to retain more than 4,000 federal workers targeted for layoffs during the shutdown as well as language to prevent the Trump administration from laying off more federal workers until Jan. 30, 2026.
The bill would still need to pass the House if the Senate votes to advance it.
At the White House, President Trump on Monday hosted Syria's Ahmad al-Sharaa. He will later swear in the new ambassador to India.
Early Monday, the Justice Department announced that the president had signed pardons for a slew of people involved in Jan. 6, 2021, prosecutions, including Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell.
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Source: The Hill - News
