WASHINGTON - A partial government shutdown was avoided Friday when the Senate approved a bill to keep the government funded through the end of September. Senators sent the bill to President Donald Trump’s desk for approval in a 54-46 vote.

Yesterday, the House passed legislation to fund the government through Sept. 30 and thereby avert a shutdown at the end of this week. The measure now goes to the Senate, where Democrats must decide whether to support it and thereby hand Trump and Musk a blank check to continue their assault on the federal government.

The advance vote: The Senate voted 62-38 to end debate on the bill – a cloture vote – and advance it to a final vote. Nine Democrats and one independent, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., voted in favor of cloture. That vote allowed the bill to pass with a simple majority in the final vote.