Democrats reach deal with White House, Senate Republicans to avert government shutdown

A bipartisan funding deal has been reached to avoid a government shutdown, the top Senate Democrat announced, and Senate GOP leaders are taking steps to try to schedule a vote for Thursday night.

The deal, according to Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, includes a two-week stopgap funding extension for the Department of Homeland Security that Democrats had requested. It also separates the DHS bill from a package of bipartisan spending bills to fund critical agencies through September, including the departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development.